Blind Ambition
by RPGfangirl
Summary: Riza begins to climb through the ranks, but people think it's because of her romantic relationship with Roy. But when his life slips through her hands she'll get more than everyone's respect when she turns to alchemy and goes after the Philosopher's Stone
1. Debts

Blind Ambition

Chapter I "Debts"

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Riza, soaking wet from the constant heavy rain, sprinted down the final block and disappeared into Roy's apartment, grocery bags in hand. Once under dry and warm shelter she quietly tip toed into the kitchen. Despite the early hour, about seven in the evening, Riza still suspected Roy to be resting. Just yesterday he had caught a fever and she had been up all night and morning trying to keep it at bay.

Black Hayate barked happily, acknowledging his master's return. He was ordered to stay behind with Roy. Riza winced at her dog's sudden loud and high pitched bark and glared at the young dog. Whimpering in fear, the dog rushed behind the table's leg.

"Quiet, Black Hayate. You may wake up the Colonel." Riza whispered, bending down to pet her dog on the head.

"He's already up." A sudden deep voice penetrated through the silent kitchen.

Jumping up in surprise, Riza turned and found Roy leaning against the door frame casually. His face was no longer flushed nor wet from sweat.

"Sir, you shouldn't be up, you need rest." Riza tried to interject.

"Nonsense." Roy interrupted, waving his hand weakly. "All I've been doing lately is resting and sleeping." He paused to stretch his arms above his head and yawn. "I'm tired of sitting around with nothing to do. I think I can return to work now."

Riza frowned. "Sir, you're not completely recovered yet." Despite her thoughts, she looked over her superior officer and took note of his recovery. All his wounds have healed and he was able to walk without any assistance from a cane. But his eyes still reflected fatigue and he still needed to rest mentally as well.

Roy grinned as he stepped further into the kitchen and grabbed an apple from one of the grocery bags. After washing it he took a large and healthy bite into it. After swallowing he looked over his lieutenant from head to toe. How long had she been nursing him again?

"You know, Riza, you really should be off to home and rest." He replied before taking another bite from the apple.

Eyes narrowing more from exhaustion than confusion of why he had called her by her first name, she nearly took his advice and walked out the door. But her needs always came last. Shaking her head slowly she said, "That won't be necessary sir, it's my job to watch over you."

Chuckling softly, Roy tossed his apple remains into the trash before running his other hand through his hair. "Your job is at the headquarters from nine to five. And last that I remember there was supposed to be a really cute nurse here to look after me."

Riza tensed. Roy smiled inwardly as he watched her emotions peak. He always had a feeling she was irritable against that cute nurse from the infirmary.

"It's my fault you were hurt, the least I can do is treat you back to normal again, sir." Riza cried sadly, her face lowering and suddenly studying the ground. She couldn't stand to meet the Colonel's gaze.

Sighing, Roy reached his hand over and poked Riza in her upper right arm, receiving a wince from her. "You were hurt too, that couldn't be helped. We both knew our plan wouldn't go through perfectly."

"Still..." Riza burst out, her eyes down casting. "If I had been faster or if I had shown up a minute later...you would..."

Suddenly Roy grabbed Riza and pulled her towards himself, enveloping her into a fierce embrace. Eyes open in shock, Riza could only stand stiffly, what suddenly got him into this? A part of her wanted to pull away from the hug, but another, majority, part of her wanted to wrap her arms around his slim waist and breathe in his masculine scent.

After a few moments her arms seemed to have involuntarily wrap themselves around Roy and lean into his hug. He rested the bottom of his chin on her head and exhaled deeply and softly. Riza closed her eyes as she pressed her ear against his chest and listened to his quickening heartbeat, was he nervous? The infamous girlfriend stealer, womanizer of the military nervous over a simple hug?

Then, as quickly as the hug sparked, it was separated. Roy pulled back with his infamous grin planted on his face, the movement of his cheek pushing his eye patch an inch higher. Noticing the movement, guilt stabbed through Riza again and she suddenly couldn't bring herself to look at him in the eye. If only she had arrived sooner...

Roy moved Riza's face upward with his finger under her chin. No matter how many times he told her that his injuries weren't her fault, she still blamed herself. "You know." He started, his voice low in a whisper. "I never did thank you."

Riza arched a thin eyebrow in question. "Colonel, there is no reason to thank--"

"I never thanked you," Roy interrupted. "For saving my life. You saved me twice. If you hadn't arrived at the time that you did, Archer would have finished me off. And if you hadn't gotten me to the nearest hospital I never would have made it. I am in debt to you."

Tears threaten to surface, but Riza kept a strong control over her body and emotions. She couldn't bring herself to cry. Instead, she shook her head profusely. "No, for what you did for me during the war, I could never repay that debt."

Roy lowered his head, the last thing he wanted to remember was the war. But images of his encounter with Riza during the war, and both helping each other to survive, rushed through his head. They both had shared good and bad moments during that time. She saved his ass more times than he cared to acknowledge, but he too had his share of being her savior.

Being able to read Roy's expressions, Riza immediately changed the subject. "Err...I'll put the grocery's away."

_Real smooth_, Riza thought. Taking one step forward and suddenly her vision was spinning. She took another step forward, shaking off the dizziness but it only made her head spin faster.

"Lieutenant?" Roy asked, addressing her back to how he normally called her by.

Riza gripped the edge of the table with one hand and the other holding her head. "I'm fine, sir."

Roy frowned. He stepped closer to her, his single eye studying Riza. Her face was shiny with moisture and her skin flushed. He placed his hand on her forehead, it felt way too hot. With his other hand he touched his own but found it no where near as hot as hers.

"It's nothing, sir. You should get back to bed." Riza whispered. Her throat was suddenly dry and aching.

"No Lieutenant, _you_ should get to bed. Why don't you take the next few days off. I'm better now and can return to work tomorrow." Roy suggested as Riza composed herself and began to put the groceries away.

"Riza." Roy said tiredly, making her stop upon being called on. "Look at me."

Riza complied and turned immediately, creating another wave of dizziness. Blinking it away, Riza looked up into her superior officer's face and felt her face grow even more impossibly warm and her heart jumped up to her throat.

Roy had his shirt unbuttoned, his lean and tight muscular body exposing. Riza finally remembered to breathe after a moment. Why was he doing this? Then she saw them.. Around his chest were a few scars, barely noticeable. She studied his skin, taking note of some of the bullet holes he most likely suffered from Archer and the stab and slash wounds from the Fuhrer.

Her hand was suddenly pulled by Roy and he placed her palm on his upper chest. "You can hardly notice the scars, and they don't hurt anymore." Taking a step back he buttoned his shirt. "I don't even need the cane anymore."

Still slightly dumbfounded, Riza quickly pushed the images of Roy's beautiful body out of her head. Roy was telling the truth, he really had recovered and was ready to return to work, so why was she insisting that he still had yet to recover?

_You just enjoyed nursing him back to health and being with him alone for days_, Riza told herself. Suddenly Riza wasn't feeling so good. Her whole body felt heavy, her vision began to swim again and she could suddenly feel her body falling. She shut her eyes to brace for the pain of the hard, cold floor smashing into her face, but she could feel herself being supported and held. The last thing she remembered was seeing Roy's worried face before complete and utter darkness consumed her.


	2. Scars

Blind Ambition

Chapter II "Scars"

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The first thing that Riza felt as she came to was the sudden rush of water splashing over her face. She could feel a cold, damp soft material foam around her face and neck.

Opening her amber eyes, the first thing she saw was an unfamiliar ceiling. Frowning slightly, she turned her head to the side and watched silently as Roy rinsed and soaked a small towel before glancing up at her.

"Riza." He whispered, a small smile growing on his face.

Lately Riza took a great notice of how many times he's called her by her first name. Shaking off her thoughts, she tried to move her body and sit up but sudden aches tore through her spinal and muscles, her whole body was sore.

"Here, I was waiting for you to get up." Roy brought a glass filled with water to Riza's lips and supported her head while she drank. "I tried giving you some earlier but you choked on it."

Once the glass was empty he asked if she wanted more but she refused. "Your fever still hasn't gone down." Replied Roy.

Riza nodded and closed her eyes. She was feeling horrible. She felt like she had fought through the Ishbal war five times in a row, followed by getting run over by a train.

"I was sick yesterday." Roy continued, wiping more sweat off of Riza's face. "Looks like you caught it."

Riza nodded again and whispered, "I'm sorry, sir."

Frowning, Roy froze, his hand still on top of her forehead, and couldn't help but smile faintly. "You have nothing to apologize for, Riza."

It was now the blonde's turn to frown. How many times has he called her name today? One too many, he's never called her by her first name. Never. Not that she was complaining though, she liked hearing him call her name, it was nice. But she just wasn't used to it and couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable.

Suddenly she felt his hand rest on her cheek, cupping it. Her cheeks grew redder, and not just from the fever, and she stared at Roy. Something truly was wrong with him; ever since she had been nursing him to recovery he had been more…touchy with her. As she looked at him, he smiled warmly for a brief moment before pulling back.

He sighed as he looked out the window, watching the heavy rainfall. "This rain doesn't look like it will end. And I was hoping it would so we could go somewhere. But seeing as you're sick now…"

Riza shook her head and forced her sore body up into a sitting position. "I'm fine, sir."

Chuckling, Roy pushed Riza softly onto the bed and pulled up the covers to her shoulders. Seeing her face soaked with sweat again, he reached for the towel. As he wiped her face, he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before saying, "I think I'm going to quit alchemy."

"What?" Riza exclaimed, her fever was suddenly the last thing on her mind. "Why would you want to quit?"

Roy shrugged. "I don't know yet. Just…I don't want to be using it to hurt people anymore."

Nodding, Riza glanced at his eye patch. "I understand." She said softly. "But…you shouldn't give it up completely, you can still use it to help people."

Roy scoffed. "My alchemy has never been of any help to people. All it's been good for is killing people. The only time I could have used it to help someone, a child, I couldn't. "

She knew what child he meant, the Fuhrer's son. For days he had been most upset about not being able to save him.

"I was right there! I could have done something to help him…save him, but I couldn't. My alchemy can only be used for destruction." Roy continued, his hand squeezing the towel tightly.

"You're wrong." Riza interjected softly. "You've also used it to save lives."

"Oh yeah?" Roy chuckled, shoving his hand into his hair. "Tell me, when did I _ever _save a life with alchemy?"

"You saved mine." She whispered. She pushed the covers away and pulled up her shirt to expose her midsection. Roy glanced down and his eyes widened. The side of her stomach had been burned, by him.

"Remember, during the war." She continued. "When I was taken prisoner, and when you came to rescue me. I would have died that night, but you used your alchemy to save my life."

"I burned your flesh, what does that have to do with saving you?" Roy whispered.

"You saved me!" Riza nearly shouted, tears welling up in her eyes. "I had given up all hope that anyone would be coming to my rescue! I was presumed dead in that explosion, but you said you knew I wasn't dead and went against orders to save me! I would have bled to death but you used alchemy to burned me to stop the bleeding and seal my wounds. You saved me, your alchemy saved me."

Roy nodded slowly, he remembered that day now. How did he ever forget it? Then again there were a lot of memories during the war he suppressed, apparently the most important one he had was forgotten as well.

Riza had put her shirt back down and stared onto her lap. "You saved my life, it may not mean much to you, but it means a lot to me."

"Riza." Roy whispered his eye watering. He stared into her cherry eyes and smiled weakly. Seeing a lock of hair covering her face, he reached over and moved it aside. Then he placed his hand on her cheek again. He shut his eye and felt the tear fall. Why was he crying? Riza reminded him of the day he gave life a second chance. That day he saved both Riza and himself.

He felt something on his cheek and opened his eye, smiling again as he saw Riza wipe his tear again with her finger. How had he been so stupid? Thinking back on so many years it suddenly piled on top of him and made him realize something. Those times where she would get mad when he mentioned his dates with some women or like that one time that nurse always seemed to brighten up and smile a lot when he was around. Was it possible that Riza loved him?

Staring into her eyes, he found his answer. He could tell by the look in her eyes, the way she solely stared at him, powerful emotions reflecting from her eyes, but the most powerful one was indeed love. But was he in love with her? Thinking back on all those memories they shared, and thinking of the present, all those times he was with her, it made sense now. Perhaps he was in love with her as well.

Before either of them were aware of what they were doing, Roy was leaning forward, his lips over Riza's.


	3. Panic

Blind Ambition

Chapter III "Panic"

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Once the clock struck five, Havoc, Fuery, Breda and Falman hastily stuffed their papers in their desks, grabbed their coats and sprinted out the door, leaving Riza to blink in confusion.

Roy chuckled as he leaned back lazily in his chair and thrust his feet on top of his desk. "Don't mind them, they think if they all walk home together that Scar wannabe will leave them alone."

Riza stopped blinking and glanced down at the paperwork she had been working on. "But he only goes after state alchemists, he wouldn't chase after them."

"True." Roy sighed, glancing outside and watching the rain. For the past two days it had been raining and within those days an unknown alchemist has made a name for himself by killing state alchemists. Lately, all the newspaper would discuss was this copycat of Scar. He killed the same victims and murdered them the same way Scar used to. Roy snapped his fingers in frustration, he and his men would be out there hunting down this man but because it had been raining…

"Brigiader General?" Riza called. She was hunched over her desk with a pen in her hand, her brows furrowed together in concentration. "I think I found something out."

Walking over, Roy glanced over her shoulder and saw she had been writing on a map of the city. The sites where dead bodies were found were circled and the time placed inside. Being so close to her, being able to smell her, he couldn't help but wrap his arms around her waist and begin to kiss her neck.

"Brigiader General!" Riza scoffed, pulling away from his grip. "We are still on duty." She scolded, only to bring a smirk on Roy's face.

He gestured toward the clock. "Our shift ends at five, its already a minute over."

Riza forced herself not to smile. Now it was getting harder for her to keep Roy in working order, luckily he kept his space and professionalism during their shifts but once their shifts finish he loses all motivation for work.

But he was right, their shift was over but she still found something that may be important. "I'm sorry Roy, but…just look at what I found."

"Fair enough." Roy stood straighter and looked down onto her map. "What do you have to show me?"

"Look at the times on these sites." Riza pointed out. "Almost all of these murders have been witnessed and the witnesses have been able to report what time the copy cat appeared and killed. But look at some of these." She pointed to one circle at one end of the city and another on the other end. "These murders have happened within five minutes on each ends of the city. How could he move that fast? Even a car wouldn't get him across the city that fast."

Roy's eyes narrowed. How hadn't he or anyone else notice this before? Especially the investigation section, then again no one was a better investigator than Hughes. "Looks like we have ourselves more than one copy cat."

"Exactly." Riza nodded. "I just noticed now as I was going through the reports. You should report this immediately."

Nodding again, Roy grabbed and folded the map neatly and stuffed it in his pocket. "Dinner tonight?"

Riza smiled weakly and nodded. Returning the smile, Roy leaned forward to kiss her, which she more than happily returned. After a few moments they both separated but Roy quickly grabbed Riza again, cupping her face with his hands, and kissed her again.

"Mmm." Riza moaned slightly, but broke away. "I'll be waiting at my apartment."

Roy nodded. He walked towards the door, but before exiting he couldn't help but turn back one last time. He watched as Riza put all the files away, pushed every chair neatly under the desks, and grab her purse to leave.

"Wait." Roy cried, frowning. It was raining terribly outside and she didn't have a jacket. He had his but she needed it more than he. "Here, its cold out and you wouldn't want to get sick again."

Shedding off his jacket, he draped it over Riza's shoulders. She opened her mouth to refuse but Roy was one step ahead, he leaned forward and silenced her with a long kiss.

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"Damn it, I'm lost again." Said a young, military rookie. He was dressed in a freshly ironed uniform with his blonde hair combed back perfectly; he was ready to report in and begin his first mission.

He glanced at his watch once again and grumbled under his breath. He had to report in five minutes ago and he still couldn't find his officer's room. The front desk secretary told him to make two right turns, go up the stairs at the left end of the hall and make three more lefts and then turn to the first door on the right.

"Let's see…ah here we are." Finally finding the open door, he stood straighter, brushed off his uniform, ran his hand through his hair, took a mighty deep breath, and walked in.

But there were two problems the moment he stepped into the room. For one the room didn't look like a private room that would belong to a General, and second, there were two uniformed men leaning into each other…almost like they were _kissing_.

Frowning, and turning his head to the side to get a better view of the shorter uniformed man, his eyes suddenly widened. Okay, he was wrong, that wasn't a man. Face blushing incredibly red from embarrassment, he quickly turned and walked out as quietly as possible without drawing any attention.

Growling under his breath, he thought back on where he could have gone wrong. Suddenly remembering he mad two lefts instead of three, he retraced his steps and continued his search for the General's office with a slight grin on his face. He recognized the uniformed man in that room, Roy Mustang. A man known as the Flame Alchemist and for his great deeds during the war. But to men in the military, they all knew him as the girlfriend stealer. Obviously now he was getting awfully _close_ to that one woman, a military woman no less.

Chuckling softly to himself, he brought his arms up and rested them behind his head with a wide grin on his face. He could hardly wait to spread the word.

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Riza briskly hurried down the sidewalk, her apartment was just a few more blocks away. Thunder snapped loudly and she was suddenly blinded by an overly bright lightning strike. She sighed mentally, why did this rain have to pick up as soon as she left?

Black Hayate was nowhere to be found when she exited the building, the rain obviously chased him back to her apartment. A sudden rush of wind whipped at her face and hands, the wetness from the rain making them feel even colder and almost numb. She placed her hands inside the jacket pockets for warmth but frowned when she felt something cold and metallic at her fingertips.

She reached for the item and pulled it out. It was Roy's State Alchemist watch. Now that she knew what it was, she reached to put it back into her pocket when she suddenly felt someone standing within inches behind her. Was it Roy already?

Turning, hoping to be greeted with another warm kiss from Roy, she was instead treated to a punch in the face. The impact of the blow hit her jaw and reeled her backwards and into the mud. Her body automatically transferred to alert mode and her hand reached for her gun, but found it blocked by her jacket.

Cursing inwardly, Riza frantically shook out of her jacket but not fast enough before she was greeted with a kick to her midsection. A sharp pain struck through her and knocked her air out. Gasping for air, her body was now focusing on replenishing oxygen into her lungs rather than reach for her pistol. Then she felt something heavy and flat roughly press against the back of her head and sent her reeling down into the mud.

"What do I have today?" A masculine voice ran through the loud echo's of rain fall. "It's about time I find myself a female State Alchemist."

Riza's heart beat doubled, was this the Scar copy cat? She gagged as more mud leaked into her nose and mouth, the pressure behind her head suddenly lightened. Picking up her head and inhaling deeply, she quickly rolled two feet away from the voice and climbed to her feet. Mud was still blocking her view but she had a relatively good idea where she was, she was in the courtyard in the middle of all the military warehouses. With one hand she wiped the mud from her face and the other instantly reached for her pistol.

"Behind you, love."

Swiftly turning, Riza was met with another blow to the face, this time the impact made the side of her face grow numb. Stepping backward and raising her gun, she pulled the trigger for a warning shot. The bullet bounced off the pavement, inches from the man's foot, and crashed into a brick wall.

Riza continued to back up until her back met with a wall. By then her vision had cleared completely, thanks to the rain, and she finally caught sight of her attacker. He stood well over a foot taller than she, perhaps the same height as Havoc. Unlike the true Scar, this man did not have any large scar on his face, he wore no sunglasses and his skin was pale with blonde hair. Both his pants and sleeveless shirt were black, which blended in well with the night, but what stood out about him the most were his arms. They were both tattooed with multiple, different transmutation circles and one of them, Riza noticed, resembled the circle that Roy had on his gloves.

Raising her gun and aiming for the man's heart, Riza debated whether or not she should try to compromise with this murderer. Then again that never worked for any criminal.

The man grinned and licked his lips slowly before bowing down slowly. "Well, this is certainly the first time I've ever seen a female alchemist. Perhaps I can have some real fun with you before I kill you."

Eyes narrowing in disgust and anger, Riza pulled the trigger three times. All three bullets weren't fast enough to intercept the target, all simply collided uselessly onto a wall. The man sprinted to his left, narrowly missing all of the bullets and charged towards Riza, his arms stretching forward for her face.

Seeing his offensive maneuver, Riza dropped to a crouch, causing her attacker to trip over her slumped form and falling towards the wet pavement. Riza quickly climbed to her feet and aimed her gun for the man's leg and emptied the last two bullets from her clip. The copy cat was one step ahead and managed to catch himself on both hands and pushed himself upwards onto his feet before any bullet got as much as an inch close to his flesh.

Cursing inwardly, Riza reached for her second clip while discharging the empty one. However, she was too slow and the floor below her rose up with magnificent speed and formed into the shape of a human hand. Before she could jump off, the hand grabbed her sternly, squeezing the air out of her lungs.

Crying out both in pain and frustration, Riza was lowered to her attackers eye level. He grinned perversely, walking closer to the blonde marksman till he was inches away from her face. He examined her face closely, wiping away a small smear of mud on her cheek and reached for her hair pin, pulling it free from her golden hair and watched it fall around her shoulders all clumped together due to the rain.

"That's better." He growled, putting his lips over Riza's.

Riza leaned as far back as she could but the concrete supporting her head kept her from moving any farther than two inches. She desperately tried to break through the concrete, but unless she had Armstrong's strength, there was no way she could ever escape.

She cried out in panic when she suddenly felt the man's hand reach for the buttons on her pants. Then she realized that her arm was loose enough to move out of a small gap between two of the concrete fingers. However, she didn't want to alert her attacker with the noise the metal of her gun would make when scratched against stone, so she had no choice but to slowly draw her arm out.

Whether she did make noise or not, her attacker never would have noticed. He was too withdrawn into the selfish and immoral deed he was about to commit. Hearing her squeal with panic, he eagerly reached for his own buttons on his pants.

Riza knew she would take too long to pull out her gun. So she made as much noise as possible, squealing, screaming through her tightly shut lips, anything to hide the scratching sounds her pistol made. Finally after a short moment her hand and gun were free and sticking out from a gap. Quickly aiming for the man's thigh, she pulled the trigger but her face grew cold as she heard and _felt_ the empty click her pistol gave off. She never had the chance to reload her gun with a fresh clip.


	4. Promotion

Blind Ambition

Chapter IV "Promotion"

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In a full state of panic, Riza shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the pain to come. She began to hyperventilate, her attacker's actions simply awoken some forgotten and traumatizing memories that took Riza months to get over.

Suddenly an outburst from the copy cat sent Riza driving out of her past memories and into the past. Opening her eyes, Riza frowned as she watched _something_ leap onto the man's chest, sending him crashing onto the wet pavement and howling in pain. Blinking out the rain water from her eyes, the blonde smiled and her heart nearly leapt up to her throat in gratitude as she watched Black Hayate chewing away at her attacker.

Now was her chance to get out of this twisted trap. With her arm sticking out of one gap, she used it as leverage to push herself downward. Thanks to the rain it was no problem sliding out from under the concrete hand.

"Damn bitch! Get off me!" The copy cat howled as he tried to get the black dog's teeth out from his shoulder. Seeing his actions useless, he reached for Black Hayate's head, the circles on his arms glowing slightly.

Recognizing his attempt on alchemy, Riza quickly inserted her spare clip into her weapon and shot the man in his leg before he could touch her dog. Black Hayate finally let go of the alchemist and took a slow step back, growling dangerously while exposing his sharp white teeth.

The man grabbed his leg and surveyed the damage; it was just a simple flesh wound. He looked up at Riza and snickered. "Think this will stop me?"

Eyes narrowing, Riza rose her gun and aimed for the man's heart. Half of her wanted to kill the man instantly for what he tried to pull, but another half of her wanted to simply turn him into headquarters for questioning. Her attention faltered somewhat when she glanced down at Black Hayate, seeing him sit right next to her feet.

Seeing his last chance, the man jumped on his feet, ignoring the flashing hot pain in his thigh, and charged at the blonde soldier. He knew she had seen too much and now her death was a primary necessity. Catching her off guard, he grabbed her face with both his arms, activating all of the transmutation circles that were tattooed to his arms.

Riza cried out immediately after the alchemists arms were on her face. She didn't know what he was doing, but whatever it was it was painful as all hell. It felt as if her bones were slowly being pulled out of her face. Her vision instantly began to swim, but she still managed to lift her gun and shoot the man on his already wounded shoulder.

However, the alchemist ignored all of the attacks he was under, he could feel the dog jump onto his back again but killing Riza was all that he could afford to do. Naturally killing a person doesn't take long, so he should be ok.

The pain in her head was becoming too much, it seemed like the more she fought the more painful her face felt. But she couldn't die now, not after everything was going so perfectly. She couldn't leave Roy. Another wave of agony tore through her thoughts, blood began to seep out of her ears and nose. On the brink of death, she still had one more idea, one bullet to his head should be more than enough to silence him instantly and halt the alchemy he was performing on her.

She aimed her gun as best as she could but before she could pull the trigger she was suddenly falling onto the ground. Landing painfully on her backside, she shook off the pain and dizziness. Looking up, she saw the alchemist tossing Black Hayate aside in anger before clutching his bleeding arm.

"Die already, bitch!" He hissed as he reached for Riza again.

Raising her gun, Riza pumped lead into both the man's arms and other leg. Screaming out in pain and frustration, the man slowed and fell uselessly onto the ground. He may have been an excellent alchemist with great speed and strength, but he was still human.

Climbing to her feet, Riza used the butt of her pistol and sent the cold metal crashing down onto the man's temple, knocking him out instantly. But to make sure he was truly unconscious, she shot him again in his calf. Seeing him remain absolutely still, Riza finally felt at ease and collapsed onto the floor, her back leaning on a wall. Black Hayate appeared at her side, whimpering and licking her face.

Smiling, Riza hugged her dog dearly. Amazing how he saved her twice. Looks like she'll have to feed him double now in gratitude with additional bones and treats. Then she frowned, wondering why he was around. Last she remembered he was no where to be found, she guessed he had returned home, away from the cold and rain. Black Hayate sat down and gave a high pitched park.

"How did you get here?" Riza asked softly, not really expecting an answer.

But she did raise Black Hayate well, and he seemed to understand her question. He turned around and ran off for a moment before coming back with a small mud covered bone in his mouth, giving Riza her answer.

She chuckled weakly, petting her dog on his head. What a story to tell Roy and everyone else at Headquarters. She was nearly killed but was saved from her dog, whom was desperate for a late snack and went off into the rain to dig up one of his bones.

"Riza?"

Bringing her head up at the sound of her name, Riza smiled tiredly and climbed top her feet the moment she saw Roy's figure step out of the shadows. But seeing her in such a state caused his eyebrows to rise and his pulse skyrocketing. He leapt forward and grabbed her in a fierce hug.

"What happened?" He exclaimed. He pulled from the hug and examined Riza's face. He touched her softly, hoping not to hurt her. But once he laid a finger on her jaw, Riza winced. "You're bleeding!"

Nodding, Riza gestured to look behind her. Frowning, Roy looked over her and his eyes grew wide.

"He's one of the copy cats." She whispered. Finally feeling at peace and safe with Roy around, she suddenly felt extremely tired.

Looking down, Roy examined Riza more closely. Besides the blood, bruise, and scratches on her face, he noticed her ruffled clothing and her unbuttoned pants. Putting two and two together, his eyes narrowed to slim slits.

He let go of Riza and nearly jumped on top of the knocked out man. Roy grabbed his neck, lifted it and shook it, jarring the man back to consciousness.

"Wake up!" Roy demanded. Once the man's opened, Roy punched him squarely on the nose. Hearing a crack, the man howled in pain as blood exploded from his nose.

"Roy!' Riza screamed out, sprinting towards him as he continued to punch the man in the face. "Stop it!"

Ignoring her pleas, Roy stood up and issued Riza away. "Stop it!" She cried again. "He didn't do anything, he didn't have the chance."

Roy exhaled deeply, he felt himself being able to breathe a lot easier. "He didn't do anything?"

"No." Riza whispered weakly. "Can we just dump him off at Headquarters?"

Roy nodded. "I'll keep watch of him, you call for backup."

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"No way!" Fuery bursted out in shock. "Black Hayate saved her!"

"Twice, I heard." Havoc grinned, lighting up a fresh cigarette.

The next day, news about the capture of one copy cat and Riza's battle duel spread like wild fire all through headquarters the next day. Breda, Havoc, and Fuery all sat at their desks while Falman told them each the stories that he heard.

"And that's not all." Falman grinned. Leaning forward, he issued the guys to lean in. Whispering, he said, "There's also news that someone walked in and saw the Brigadier General kissing Lieutenant Hawkeye."

Breda spit out his coffee, Havoc's cigarette fell form his mouth, and Fuery's jaw dropped to the floor. "_Our_ Brigadier General?" They all asked in unison.

Falman nodded. "He really saw them.""Wow." Fuery said in awe. "That's…awkward."

Breda chuckled. "Of all girls Roy had to go for. It _had_ to be Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"Hey, at least he didn't go for my new girlfriend." Havoc grinned broadly, picking up his fallen cigarette and placing it back into his mouth.

"Still." Falman cried. "Do you think their relationship will change anything?"

"Who knows?" Breda shrugged.

"Guess we'll all see within time." Fuery replied. Nodding, all men instantly dug into their pockets and pulled out loads amount of cash, making new bets about Roy and Riza's relationship.

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Riza was jarred from her sleep when she heard the doors close. Opening her tired eyes, she looked to her left and found Roy standing right next to her. Wincing, she attempted to sit up and salute but Roy kept his arm firmly on her shoulder, holding her down.

Sighing, he sat down on the edge of her bed. "You shouldn't get up. You need to rest."

Riza shook her head. "I'm fine, Brigadier General. I'm just a bit sore."

"Still," Roy replied, his hand pushing his hair back. "I'd feel better if you stayed here for the day and rest up. Are you sure that—"

"Sir, I'm fine." Riza reinsured.

"He didn't…what I think he did, did he?"

Riza sighed, but smiled weakly afterwards. "No, he didn't do anything. He didn't get the chance too."

"Good." Roy stood up suddenly, a wide grin on his face. "I was just worried that—"

"Don't you have work to do, Brigadier General?" Riza narrowed her eyes. "I may be stuck in the infirmary, but you should be organizing a patrol squad for tonight."

Face faltering into an innocent smile, Roy stood straighter and smoothed out the wrinkles from his pants. He leaned forward to kiss, but Riza stuffed her pillow on his lips.

"We're still on duty, sir."

Smiling, Roy moved the pillow aside and kissed Riza on her forehead. "That's what I love about you."

As Riza blushed furiously, Roy turned back before he left the room. "One other thing I forgot to mention." He opened the door and walked out, but stuck his head back into the room while holding the door open. "Because of your excellent work, we've been able to find out about these copy cats, so you can take the week off, and no buts about it. Got that, Major Hawkeye?"

He quickly exited the room before Riza could refuse the vacation time. Putting two and two together, Riza smiled warmly at the thought of her promotion. Still, in that week she could just imagine the chaos Roy's office would fall into if she weren't around to keep him in working order. Well, they still had their postponed dinner for tonight; she could talk to him then.

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	5. Rumors

Blind Ambition

Chapter V "Rumors"

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Sighing impatiently, Roy stood up from his desk and peered outside the windows behind him. He had been working an hour too long already, reading through papers and signing most of them. Taking advantage of the emptiness and quietness of his room, Roy sat down again and wondered about his subordinates.

Three days ago, the man Riza had captured finally cracked and told the military about whom he was and the people he worked for. His story was already on the newspapers, a steadily growing group of criminals that were inspired by Scar's murderous actions and found using alchemy to their advantage would be a better turn of events.

Despite the small amount of information the man provided, he did, however, mention the temporary headquarters the alchemists would be meeting in. Taking action immediately, Central HQ sent several soldiers and state alchemists to the headquarters, a small town nearby Dublith, and Riza was one of the first hand picked soldiers. Her vacation time was put on halt.

Roy sighed again as he remembered their farewell. Three days was long enough, after all he had been so accustomed to seeing Riza every day. Not to mention he had special plans for her vacation time. Rummaging in his pocket, Roy pulled out a small black case the size of his palm and looked inside, smiling gently as he observed the shiny ring.

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The next morning, the entire Central HQ was filled with applause and celebration, for some unknown reason to Roy. Tearing through the crowd, and threatening the majority of the bystanders with his flame alchemy, Roy finally got to the front and couldn't help the wide grin that grew on his face.

Standing in the middle of the large crowed were the soldiers returning from the mission. Roy caught sight of Breda and Havoc walking side by side among the other soldiers heading towards the post briefing. After several other men passed by, Roy saw Fuery walking besides the giant Armstrong. They both smiled and waved. Returning the gesture, Roy stood up straighter to peer over the rest of the soldiers that passed by, hoping to capture a glimpse of Riza. When the large group of soldiers vanished, panic struck Roy. His heart beating double its normal rate, he rushed towards the infirmary, hoping she would be ok. As he burst into the room, he found himself clutching the small jewelry box tightly.

Seeing numerous of bodies being nursed on every bed, Roy couldn't see Riza anywhere. His heart sinking even lower, Roy scrambled out of the room and sprinted towards the General's office, which should already have the mission reports.

Once inside the office and slamming the door behind him, his sudden noise startled the small group already gathered inside the General's office.

"May I help you, Mustang?" The General asked, a tinge of annoyance plastered on his already wrinkling face.

Stammering, Roy examined the room. A line of six or seven men stood in front of the General's desk, and on one end was a much smaller frame with blonde hair. Recognizing Riza immediately, Roy felt his entire body relax and every fear inside of him dwindled.

"No, General." Roy finally said while fighting a smile from creeping onto his face. "Sorry to interrupt you." Bowing quickly, he exited the room and shut the door quietly.

Once outside Roy was greeted by his subordinates, all with grins on their faces.

"Worried, eh?" Havoc winked, a lit cigarette already in his mouth. "Figured you would be if you didn't see your precious—"

Eyes narrowing, Roy lifted his already gloved hand and snapped his fingers, frightening every one of his subordinates and preventing Havoc from finishing his sentence.

Just then the door opened and the men from inside poured out of the room and went their separate ways. Riza came out last, and seeing Roy she gave him a small, tired smile.

Her face was dirty, the skin under her eyes were black and there were faint areas of dry blood. Roy grabbed her in a tight hug, all those nights he also couldn't sleep while knowing that Riza would be among the few placed in the front lines. Not to mention with her accurate aim she would quickly become a primary target to the enemy. But she was here now, alive and well.

Seeing the couple switch from hugging to kissing, the men got the message and left home to shower and rest. Breaking apart, Roy pulled Riza's hand gently, leading her outside of the building.

With the door still ajar, the General inside frowned as he thought over the scene he had just witnessed. Surely, when the rumors started about Brigadier General Mustang and Major Hawkeye becoming a couple started he was of the few that didn't believe the tales. Apparently, those rumors were true all along.

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"So what did the General want with you?" Roy asked Riza as she soaked in the bath.

After leaving the headquarters, Roy took one of the military's vehicles and drove Riza home. He sat on her bed petting Black Hayate while Riza bathed.

Riza left the bathroom door slightly open so she would be able to talk to Roy while she cleaned up. "He just wanted to congratulate all of us."

"For what?"

"We all were the ones most recognized for our work and success." Riza explained. On the ride home she explained to Roy the somewhat success of the mission. There was a small battle against the alchemists but it was nothing the military couldn't handle and they had captured a lot of alchemists, however the leaders escaped.

"On what exactly?"

Riza rose from the bath and dried herself before getting into some clothes. Once finished, she towel dried her hair as she walked towards the bed. Sitting on it, Roy held her close. With a yawn, she leaned down and rested her head on her pillow, Roy doing the same.

"Those men and I were able to capture two of the 'leaders'." Answered Riza.

"Oh?" Roy asked. "Did you kill them?"

Smiling, Riza shook her head. "No, I just shot them in the leg to prevent them from running away."

"Ah, any rewards from the General?"

"Yes." Riza whispered. "We were all promoted."

Roy's eyebrows rose. "Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"So what will I have to be calling you now?" Roy grinned.

Riza yawned again. "Lieutenant Colonel will do."

Roy smiled and whispered something else to Riza, but when she did not reply he knew she had already fallen asleep. With one hand he reached for the lump in his pocket, but it would have to wait.

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	6. Proposal

Blind Ambition

Chapter VI "Proposal"

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The next morning, Riza arrived at the headquarters on time as usual. Feeling completely refreshed, she was ready for any mission the military may want to place her in next. As she casually walked towards her office, turning every corner and taking alternate hallways in the order she's memorized for years. On the way she ran into the only people she's seen all morning, three soldiers standing in the middle of the hall socializing and laughing.

Once Riza turned in their hall, they glanced to see who the newcomer was and seeing a superior officer they all immediately stood straight and saluted her. Two of the men that were standing in the middle of the hall quickly moved aside to let Riza walk through.

"Good morning, Lieutenant _Colonel_." One soldier whispered bitterly, soft enough for the men standing around him to hear but too low to reach Riza's ears.

"Good morning." Riza said in return before turning a corner.

Once she was out of eye sight and the sound of her footsteps vanished, the group of soldiers continued their conversation, but with a new subject.

"Why did you do that?" One other soldier asked the one that spoke up a few seconds ago. "Disrespecting a _Lieutenant Colonel_ is suicide!"

"Because." Replied the first soldier as he scratched his head. "She's not a real Lieutenant Colonel. Only reason she's gotten to that rank is because of her lover boy."

"Heh." Joined a third soldier. "I've heard about that. Rumors say she's sleeping around with Brigadier General Mustang."

"So it's true then?" The second soldier asked. "Great, then maybe we can all have our girlfriends to ourselves."

Ignoring the remark the second soldier said, the first soldier resumed his side of the rumors. "Since she's been with Mustang, she's been getting promotions."

"True." The third replied quietly. "She's been promoted three ranks within a month."

"You see!" The first one exclaimed. Growling softly, he rubbed at his hair, messing his blonde locks out of place. "It isn't right! We've all worked hard to get promoted, and she's _handed_ the rank of Lieutenant Colonel!"

"She, too, has worked hard." The second suggested. "She did catch that alchemist rebel. Without him we never would have--"

"Who _cares_ about that!" The first one interrupted. "People catch wanted men all the time and they're not given a promotion."

"If you don't think she deserves her promotions then you could always write a report to the--"

"I _already_ have!" The first soldier interrupted the second soldier's sentence again. "I've already gotten several hundred signatures of other people that completely agree with me."

The third soldier raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What did the higher ups have to say about it?"

The first shrugged. "I don't know. It's only a matter of time until we see what happens."

As usual, Riza arrived in her office before anyone else. Taking her time to settle, she opened the windows to let in some cool air and cleaned the office as best as she could. Roy had numerous papers on his desk that needed to be placed in their appropriate drawers, and Havoc had his ashtray overfilled with ashes and cigarette butts. Breda and Fuery were the only ones, besides Riza herself, that kept a clean desk. However, once they opened a drawer, that's a completely different story.

Quickly finishing up, Riza sat down at her desk and reached for the manilla folder that awaited for her attention. Every morning she and everyone else were given folders that contained either mission orders or paper work. Opening up her folder, Riza's eyes narrowed as she read over the document that was held within.

Taking the letter in her hands, Riza slowly read over it. About halfway through, the door opened and chattering pierced the once quiet room. She ignored the voices and continued reading. That was, until she felt someone place their head beside hers.

"What'cha got there." Havoc grinned. Even in the morning he still smelled of smoke. "A love letter?"

Sighing softly, Riza turned her attention back to her letter. Before she could continue reading Roy's voice caught her attention.

"What love letter?" Roy asked, his voice tone harsh and serious. Without waiting for a response, he walked towards Riza and read it over her shoulder, with Havoc doing the same to her other shoulder.

Feeling severely suffocated, Riza placed her letter back into her folder, closed it, and stood up. After she no longer felt anyone's head on top of her shoulder, she retrieved her letter and tried to finish reading it. But then she felt Roy and Havoc's faces inches from hers, also reading along the lines on her paper.

Mentally cursing her short height, Riza ignored them and continued reading. Upon reaching the last paragraph, her eyes widened for a moment in surprise. Behind the letter were several sheets of paper with numerous signatures on them.

"Guess I better go then."Not bothering to put her letter back into the folder, Riza stepped out of the office, shutting the door behind her.

"What happened?" Fuery asked from his seat. He sat in confusion as he cleaned his glasses with a cloth.

Roy picked up the letter and reread it. Then he flipped through the extra pages, reading every signature each page contained.

Havoc shrugged. "The Generals wanted to see Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye, they didn't say why."

"Then what about those other papers." Fuery inquired about the ones Roy studied like a hawk.

"Signatures." Havoc answered. "The letter didn't say much, but something's wrong. Whatever it is, those people signed a petition that has something to deal with Lieutenant Colonel."

As Roy continued reading, one signature captured his absolute attention. His eye narrowed as he reread the signature, hoping it was his eye that was just playing a trick on him. When the signature refused to disappear and expose its real signature, Roy tore his eye from the paper and stared at Breda.

"You signed this too." Said Roy.

Havoc and Fuery glanced at the redhead. "What is this so called petition about?" Roy asked.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Breda took a deep breath before explaining as kindly as he could of what the petition was really about.

At least half an hour later, Riza returned to the office. Her face paled and her eyes red, yet she still kept a stern face and kept her emotions in tact.

Roy was at her side the moment she stepped in. "What happened?"

Riza sighed before handing him a paper. As he read it, Riza went to her desk and began emptying it.

"Wh-what happened?" Fuery asked. He did not like how all of this was looking.

Roy crumbled the paper in his hand and dropped it on the floor. "They can't do this!" With that, he charged out of the office and disappeared through the hall.

"Lieutenant Colonel." Havoc whispered.

"No." Riza said softly. "That's not my rank anymore."

"What?" Fuery asked. "You were demoted?"

Riza nodded as she organized every folder from her desk and stacked them on top of each other. "I'm a First Lieutenant again."

"Why?" Havoc nearly shouted, his fresh cigarette falling from his lips. Breda winced and bowed his head down.

Riza smiled slightly. "I don't care about what my rank is. But they are transferring me to the North Headquarters."

"No!" Fuery whispered, his eyes nearly wider than his glasses. "Why? You didn't do anything wrong."

"Yes, I did." With that, Riza placed the last folder on top of her stack and went to grab for her coat and purse. "My train is tonight. I guess this is goodbye."

Everyone, including Breda, felt horrible. They exchanged a final farewell, with Riza talking to Breda last and reassuring him that she wasn't mad at him. In her meeting with the Generals they recited every person that disagreed with her promotions, when she heard Breda's name she was shocked, but not mad. After their goodbyes, Riza exited the office and retraced her steps from memory through the buildings mini maze and found her way to the entrance.

She glanced back, a part of her hoping to see Roy running towards her with a smile on her face, telling her that the Generals were overreacting. Another part of her was hoping to see Roy run with her, telling her of the way he got the military to accept the reasons why she was promoted and to let her stay. But when she didn't see him come, another part of her wanted to wait and say goodbye. But deep down inside of her she knew she couldn't go through it. There was no way she could tell him goodbye, and leave and forget about him.

Sighing, Riza turned and walked home. She only had a few hours to pack.

Once Riza was done packing, she looked around her empty apartment, trying to remember if she forgot anything. She still had quite a few legal issues to take care of with her sudden moving to the North side of the country, but thankfully the military would take care of everything for her. With the train ticket already in her hand and Black Hayate ready to leave on his first "road trip", Riza studied her home one last time.

Figuring out a decent idea to get her luggage out with as little stress as possible, Riza opened her door before lifting her bags. Black Hayate's ears perked up and he started to bark in a high pitch. Recognizing his friendly bark, Riza turned and felt her heart sink when she spotted Roy standing by her door frame.

Looking down, Riza closed her eyes. "It would have been easier the other way."

Ignoring her Roy grabbed the bags from the blonde's hands and moved them aside. Then he grabbed her into a tight hug. Riza felt her insides being torn apart as she returned the hug. She couldn't go through this. She couldn't leave him behind, unprotected.

"Riza." Roy whispered.

"Yes?" she replied, her voice tight and shaky. She couldn't cry, she refused to.

"How does the country side sound?"

"What?"

Smiling, Roy pulled apart from their hug and led Riza to the bed. As they both sat, Roy continued. "How would you like to live somewhere quiet...like the country or a small town."

Riza frowned. Where was he going with this. "What're you talking about?"

Roy's smirk faded, and his facial expression turned serious. Taking Riza's smaller hand into his own, he stared into her eyes, loving the red tint they've always had. "The country side. No military, no large cities, just a small, peaceful place to live in."

Riza still did not get where he was getting to. Well technically she had a feeling what he was saying, but she had a hard time believing her ears. She was still waiting for herself to wake up. "But, our jobs. We can't just leave our jobs. And what about your ambition?"

Roy smiled softly. "To become the next Fuhrer?" When Riza nodded, Roy lifted his free hand and cupped it on her cheek. "My dream is to be with you."

Feeling her breath caught in her throat, Riza struggled to say something. She couldn't just leave him to abandon his dream. Not after all that he had accomplished. "But--"

"No." Roy replied softly. "I'm moving to the country. Someplace where there's no one to judge us, no one to tell us we can't be together, somewhere safe."

Riza bowed her head down with her eyes closed, being deep in thought. All of this was moving too fast. One moment she's with Roy, the next she's attacked, followed by two promotions and now conflict with the military over their relationship. Yes she and Roy had been together for a few months, but she has always loved him ever since she could remember. For he was her reason why she joined the military, the reason why she trained herself to excel in firearms, the reason she protects him. She'd follow him anywhere.

"Are you with me?" Roy asked.

Tearing her gaze away from the floor, she looked into Roy's single eye. Smiling weakly and in a tiny, soft voice she said, "You know there's no need to ask."

Roy scratched his head, his face flushed and his breathing increased. He thought maybe Riza could hear his heartbeat in the quiet apartment. "Then you'll come with me, as my wife?"

Shocked, Riza felt her heartbeat rate increase and her face felt hot. Immediately Roy had a small, black box under her nose. Looking down, her eyes widened as she stared down at gold, diamond ring. It was simple yet it was still beautiful.

Feeling tears well up in her eyes, Riza hugged Roy before he could see the tears. "Yes." She whispered.

Roy's arms wrapped around her tightly, as if afraid to let her go. It felt like hours had passed by and the next thing Riza knew she woke up laying next to Roy under her small bed's covers. Despite the empty room being so cold and the bed sheets thin, Roy's body next to hers was more than enough to keep her warm.

Roy had been awake, and apparently watching her sleep. Chuckling and mentioning about her moaning while sleeping, he took her left hand and placed his ring on her finger.

"We should leave now." Riza suggested.

"Why?"

"Because it's already morning. We'll have to resign from the military before we leave, of course."

Roy groaned. "Fine, just a little bit longer."

"How much?" Riza asked.

"Ten more hours." Roy yawned.

Laughing softly, Riza rested her head on his chest."Fine." Then, laying in several moments of silence, they fell asleep again.

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	7. Rain

Blind Ambition

Chapter VII "Rain"

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Riza couldn't sleep. No matter what position she took, she just couldn't concentrate on keeping her eyes closed. There was something that worried her, scared her even. She couldn't point her finger at it, but she could feel something in the air that something wasn't right.

Finally, she peeled out from her bed, tiptoed past Black Hayate undetected and stepped outside through the back door. The night was dark and heavy with clouds, but the breeze brought a cool and relaxing comfort. Riza inhaled deeply and sat down on a nearby unopened box.

As she sat, she collected her thoughts on the past four weeks. After she and Roy resigned from the military, they wasted no time and got married. It wasn't anything big or extremely formal, just a small wedding with their coworkers and a few friends. Riza didn't have any family to invite, and apparently neither did Roy.

By the third week she and Roy found the perfect place to move to. It was a small city located in the upper regions of the country. The weather was cooler than most places, but Riza and Roy didn't mind at all. They were welcoming of a cold environment. There they found a nice, small home.

Riza stood up suddenly; she felt a rain drop land on her nose and could hear more drops splattering on the ground. She debated whether she should bring in all of the boxes that were kept outside of the house, but decided it was best to leave them. All of the boxes that were outside of her, and Roy's, new house were nothing that would be damaged if they got a bit wet. And she didn't want to wake up Roy from the noise she would obviously make.

Before she opened the door something beyond the darkness caught her eye. She turned and faced the distraction, noticing that there was movement among the nearby trees. Her first thoughts were animals, but then thought against it because she could faintly make out a human figure. Then she spotted another, and third. Eventually she noticed it was a small group of people, walking ever so slowly.

She frowned at the thought. Why would people walk when it was cold, dark and starting to rain? If they were locals, then it would make sense if they rushed over to their home. However, judging by the groups movements, she was convinced they weren't locals. Part of her wanted to stay and observe them, but another part of her wanted to ignore them. She was no longer in the military, so it was time she started acting like a civilian.

However, her instincts kept her feet still and her ears stretching to hear the whispers coming from the group. So far, the most she was able to assume all of the figures were male, and the more she spied the more figures appeared from the black horizon beyond the trees.

The rain sprinkles soon turned into heavy rain globs and thunder echoed softly from the skies. Riza began to shiver from the sudden shock of ice cold water soaking her, but she ignored it and continued watching the men. Despite the heavy rainfall they did nothing to seek for shelter or run.

They were closer now; close enough for Riza to actually hear their conversations without having to strain her ears.

"This place will do nicely." One voice grunted.

Riza frowned. Were they burglars? She crept closer to them and hid behind a tree. She had to at least see if they were armed or not, or if they appeared to be much of a threat. Hiding behind the tree and covering her face with some wet bushes, Riza tried to see through the heavy darkness.

"So, this is another small town with no military services, eh?" Another voice echoed.

Riza definitely didn't like the sound of that. She didn't need to see or hear more to confirm what she already knew.

"That doesn't mean you can be lazy. They still do have _some_ military officers here to keep the place in order, dumbass." A third voice snickered.

By the time Riza could clearly see the group, she was already at her backdoor and turning the doorknob. She had to wake Roy, fast, before anything happened. The adrenaline of surprise gathered at her arm, making her slam her door shut once she was behind it.

Cursing at her foolishness now wasn't the time to do anything but wake Roy and find which box she kept all of her firearms.

"Roy! Wake up!" Riza whispered sternly. She brought attention to their new home already; she didn't need to make anymore noise.

As she opened random boxes Black Hayate's ears perked up. He growled as he climbed to his feet and started barking towards the back door. Riza could feel her heart ready to burst from her chest and her palms began to sweat. She couldn't shake off this strange feeling of fear that something terrible was going to happen.

Roy groaned. "Quiet…Hayate…"

The latest box Riza opened made her want to jump high into the air, she finally found her box of old firearms. Each were held in private, small boxes. All of them were unloaded, but she already spotted the box labeled "flammable" where she knew she placed all of her ammo in.

"Roy!" She whispered again. Hayate continued to bark and she quickly debated whether or not she was able to hear voices behind the back door. Spotting a flashlight, Riza grabbed it and instantly was at Roy's side.

"Wake up, Roy!" She warned one last time. When he refused to even open one eyelid, Riza opened one herself. Then with the flashlight in another hand she turned it on, and kept it pointing directly into Roy's eye.

"Argh!" Roy shouted, which made Riza wince. She might as well give up trying to be silent and stealthy; too much noise was deriving from her house.

"Why'd you do that!" Roy moaned as he rubbed his suddenly blinded eye.

Riza reached for Roy's untouched white gloves from the nearest drawer and tossed them at him. Before she could say anything, glass shattered and rained over her.

Stepping away from the sudden explosion, Riza turned the safety off of her gun. Roy, no longer blinded, instantly placed his hands into his well missed gloves. He clearly had no idea what was happening. First he was blinded, and now their bedroom window shattered. However, seeing the determined look on Riza face with her pistol in hand, he didn't need an explanation to find out what was happening. He'd ask questions later.

Suddenly they both heard random screams and shouts from neighboring houses. Riza was the first to notice fire erupt in one home several meters away. For such a small group of men, how could they cause so much damage in a short period of time?

Her question was instantly answered when the nearest wall suddenly _disappeared_. Behind the once existing wall stood two men, one widely grinning with his arms crossed and the other with his palms thrusted forward. Squinting, both Riza and Roy made out transmutation circles on either one of the man's palms.

"Ah, so _this_ is where all the noise came from." The man with crossed arms replied. Both he and his partner were dressed in what appeared to be black uniforms, very identical to the patterns of the military uniforms.

Riza's eyes narrowed. She lifted her weapon but before she could take aim the sound of Black Hayate's sudden cry tore her attention from the pair of men at the wall. Her eyes turned to the direction she heard Hayate, nearby the back door. Movement caught her eye and she spotted a third person enter through the back, although the darkness of the room made it difficult to find Hayate.

Anger and panic struck through her. One moment she's enjoying the night's breeze and the next she is being invaded in her own brand new home by alchemists. Suddenly she wondered if these men had any connections to the rebel alchemists back at Central. Their clothing was different, but why would a group of alchemists attack a peaceful, small town?

She aimed her gun at the man hiding in the back shadows and pulled the trigger twice. The moment she pulled the trigger the first time she heard the familiar sound of hands clapping. Turning, she saw both men at the wall press their hands together and then placing them back onto the ground. At first she thought they were like Ed, having the ability to use alchemy by simply clapping their hands together. But then she noticed the slight glow of the tattooed transmutation circles on their palms the moment after they clapped.

Roy was faster and with a single snap of his fingers he engulfed both men in flame, however it didn't stop them from still placing their hands onto the ground. Once activated, the ground in front of Riza began to quiver softly. Putting two and two together, Riza lunged away from where she was standing before the ground formed into a spear like shape and extended violently upwards into the roof.

"Are you ok?" Roy asked Riza. He was instantly at her side and checking if she was hurt. When she nodded and ushered him back, she quickly searched for Hayate and found him beside the bed.

He was limping, but he didn't cry or whimper. Smiling softly, Riza patted him on the head. "Wait for us in the woods, Hayate."

He tilted his head two the side and made a soft noise. But with a glare from Riza he didn't need to be told twice. He turned and limped towards the back door.

Sighing, Riza turned to look at Roy, whom was looking for anymore nearby intruders. "Roy?" She asked.

"The screaming stopped." Roy whispered. "That's what worries me."

Riza never noticed the screaming had stopped until Roy mentioned it. Did that mean everyone was already dead? Shaking her head, Riza cleared her mind. Her main concern was to rid of all these alchemists before more damage can occur.

Water leaked from the hole in their roof and landed on top of Riza's head, making her shiver. She looked up and felt her stomach fall; she also forgot it was raining. How was Roy going to help her against the alchemists?

Roy read her mind and cursed. Then he dug into a box and searched for the biggest umbrella they had. As long as he kept his gloves dry, he could create a fire large enough to avoid being extinguished by the rain.

Riza pocketed her pistol at the waist of her pants and searched for her box of weapons and ammunition. From what she saw earlier, the group didn't appear to be too big. But knowing that they were alchemists, she would need more weapons.

Among the huge mess of their home, she quickly spotted her box. Opening it again she grabbed all of the handguns she owned. She figured having small and simple weapons would be best to match against these alchemists agility. After she was satisfied with her selection, she searched for her ammo box. Then she spotted it sitting nearby the dead and still burning men. She sprinted forward to pull back the box before it caught on fire, but once she was within a foot the fire had caught onto the box.

Cursing, she turned and shouted for Roy to get out of the house. He was still looking for an umbrella and was oblivious to what happened, so Riza grabbed him by the arm and pulled him outside just before multiple shots exploded from the lit bullets.

The sudden rain stung against their skin, but being outside seemed a lot worse than being inside the house with bullets firing everywhere. They were completely surrounded by the rest of the alchemist group. All were dressed in the same black clothing was the ones Riza and Roy saw earlier, and each of them had the same unique transmutation circle on different areas of their arms.

Some had the tattoo on their palms, others had them on their fists, and others had their whole hand or arm covered. Riza and Roy estimated that there were no more than a dozen of them, but obviously their number advantage was very discouraging.

Roy's gloves were soaked, Riza had less than a clip worth of ammo in her only gun and she suddenly realized her right shoulder was bleeding. Examining her wound, she realized she had been shot by one of the haywire bullets inside their home. She didn't have much and they all had instantly gone off once the fire warmed them up enough, so the bullets were no longer a threat to her, Roy, or the alchemists. However, she quickly spotted one bleeding body lying on the floor directly outside of a second window to their home.

The odds were overwhelming, but there wasn't much of a choice left to do. Riza was hoping she could shoot at least three and move out of the way before any of them had time to attack. She lifted her arm but it suddenly fell and she swallowed the sudden hot stab of pain her shoulder erupted into.

If she couldn't even lift her gun, how would she defend herself and Roy? She could still shoot with her left hand, but since she's right handed, her aim would not be as flawless. She felt Roy at her side, trying to protect her. But what could he do? What could she do? Now, they were both useless in the rain.

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	8. Hope

Blind Ambition

Chapter VIII "Hope"

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Roy and Riza were as good as dead. Truth was, during the Ishbal war they had both suffered worse scenario's, but at least then they both had _some_ chance to fight back. Now, Riza half clip of bullets wouldn't be able to take out all these alchemy trained men. Perhaps if they ran they could find some place _dry_.

That's when Riza nearly slapped herself for being so thoughtless. Behind her in the house a fire erupted and the whole roof hadn't caved in yet, meaning that there should be more than enough fire inside that Roy could use. But how could she tell him? She couldn't just whisper it to him, there were two men standing within hearing range even if she whispered as lowly as she could.

His arm was holding her left, uninjured one and he was still staring at all the men, as if trying to find a weakness among them. Riza pulled her arm from his grasp and grabbed his instead before giving it a firm squeeze.

For a moment, Roy thought her squeeze was a signal of fear. But for the many years that he's been with her, training, fighting, loving, he's known that she would _never_ reveal any fear. That's when he knew that she had a plan. His other alchemy skills were rusty, but all he had to do was draw an alchemy circle as fast as he could before the other men can so much as clap or whatever they had to do to activate their tattooed circles.

As if reading his mind, Riza stepped in front of him.

"Well, well. What does this lovely young lady have for us. You want to beg us for mercy?" One man blurted. His red hair was cut incredibly short and many war-like scars covered his face.

Grinning, Riza lifted her gun and pulled the trigger. The man standing directly in front of her fell face down onto the mud instantly. Even though she had to use her less accurate left hand didn't mean it still lacked in speed.

"Kill her!"

Riza's plan was successful. By killing one of their own in front of their eyes she was able to become everyone's primary target. Now she may not be an alchemist, but her best method to escape alchemy was to simply run. Cowardly as it sounds it kept her alive every time she encountered an alchemist during the war.

Once every man activated their tattoos, Riza lunged and narrowly dodged every one of their attempted attacks, giving Roy his chance to run into their ruined home unnoticed.

Once inside he smiled, as ironic as it sounded he was happy to see his home still engulfed in flames. Luckily due to the wetness of the roof the fire hadn't been able to stick to it. Simply by standing near a flame and with his glove all he had to do was point toward where he wanted the flames to erupt from.

Riza's safety kept him from directly attacking the dozen alchemists. Instead, he surrounded her in flames, then connected it with a direct path towards the house.

She quickly ignored the men's shouts and other alchemy that they attempted and ran as quickly as her legs could take her before the rain extinguished the flames.

Once under the warm and dry comfort in their ruined home, Riza stayed a few feet behind Roy. While he kept watch of the front part of the home, she kept an eye on both the nearby window and the backdoor. She still had half a clip worth of ammo. She would have to be careful with her aim, she couldn't afford to waste any of the bullets.

Roy smiled widely as he observed the enemy. They all were nothing more but brawn like alchemists with no intelligence. It wasn't until the flames surrendered to the rain that they had finally noticed Riza was nowhere. One man, probably the groups leader, noticed Roy's location and pointed him out to his group. By observing the hatred in the men's eyes Roy assumed perhaps now they could finally get serious.

The group wasted no time and began to sprint towards him. Roy clenched his fists and prepared himself. Soon he would have to endure the smell of burnt flesh, a smell he got used to during the Ishbal war, but now he seemed to have forgotten how disturbing the scent was.

Once a few of the men were close enough Roy immediately set off explosions in random areas. Whether they connected with a person directly or not the explosion itself would be enough to take a nearby person out. Rain or not, explosions were still existent.

Roy laughed, shocking both himself and Riza. Well, Riza knew laughing was one method Roy did when met under a very sudden stress. And killing a dozen alchemy trained bandits when he hung up his gloves and military uniform weeks ago would certainly be considered stress.

The group was cut down to four men. Not exactly a number Roy and Riza would be weary of, but they still had to remain in their home nearby the flames' protection. However, these last four were smart enough to use their alchemy to built an underground tunnel. With them out of sight Roy couldn't produce an explosion.

He stepped back and thought of a way to protect Riza. If they were to come from underground they could produce _anything_ directly out of the ground under them. If they were _really_ smart enough they could even bring their home down on their heads.

Apparently, that's what they did. Before Roy could register what was happening, he heard a pained cry escape from Riza. Once he turned he was met with a fiery explosion of wood and water directly in front of his face. Stepping back, he noticed the walls cracking and the roof falling in pieces. Ignoring everything, he strained his eyes and ears to find Riza. Soon, he felt wood falling on his shoulders.

He quickly scanned for both shelter and for any sign of Riza, but could find none of either. All he could do was fall into a tight curl and protect his head. Falling into fetal position, he waited for the wood to stop falling. Eventually he knew it was over when all he could feel was the water pour on top of him.

Opening his only eye, his vision was clouded with red. He opened his mouth but coughed. A large piece of unbroken wood fell on top of him, mostly protecting him from anything else that fell. His body was stiff and his whole right side was aching from enduring the portion of the roof that fell on him.

_Bang._

Eye widening, Roy ignored his body's plea to recuperate and forced himself out of the wooden tangle. Once out the rain splashed his face and removed some of the blood that covered his face. Peering around, he finally noticed movement behind him. Turning, and standing, he observed Riza's duel with the remaining four alchemists.

One man stumbled forward and coughed out blood. Looking up, he stared at Riza with extreme hatred before finally falling down dead before his face hit the wet Earth.

The remaining bandits didn't seem to be too troubled that one more of their men was killed. Instead, they quickly slammed their palms to the ground.

Riza quickly recognized their attack. She'd seen Ed and Al perform it many times before to the point where she could identify what would be rising out of the ground by analyzing the vibrations she felt. The easiest trick was to feel for the vibrations from under your feet. If you felt them then it meant something was going to come out of it. Feeling for them was nearly impossible with shoes, but barefooted made it _very_ easy.

She quickly jumped out of her spot and once she landed she aimed and shot down two more men, hitting them both in the head. Once they were down, the last remaining bandit stared at her with wide eyes and his mouth slightly ajar. He lifted his hands immediately in surrender.

Roy quickly stood next to Riza. Judging by her appearance, she wasn't in as bad shape as Roy was. Her head wasn't bleeding, meaning she probably avoided the roof from falling on top of her. Her eyes were narrow and unmoving, she kept her gun pointed at the final survivor.

Roy immediately broke the silence. "Who are you?" He asked.

The heavily scared man spat towards Roy, angering Riza. She stepped closer and cocked her gun.

Roy forced back a smile. Oh how he missed this. Riza was the ideal bodyguard. She wouldn't even allow so much as spittle to touch him. No wonder he fell in love with her. Quickly clearing his throat, Roy hardened his expression.

"Remember, my wife can kill faster than you can clap and you've already seen her kill your _friends. _We alchemists tend to underestimate firearms, but trust me you shouldn't underestimate her," Roy grinned. "Answer me and we might let you live."

The man spat again, but not towards Roy. Honestly, he didn't want to anger Riza any further than she appeared. He was more afraid of her than Roy. Yet, he inhaled deeply and crossed his arms. "I'm _not_ afraid to die."

Roy nodded. "I see. However, you may not be afraid to die _quickly_. My wife was merciful to give your friends quick deaths. Yet, you can die slower. Or she can think of different places to shoot you, nonlethal areas that is."

The man's eyes narrowed. So now he was being threatened with torture. Still, he did not answer him.

Riza stepped forward and shot him in the toe.

Screaming out, the scared man fell and clutched his now bleeding shoe. Then he heard Riza whisper to him.

"He asked you a question."

Just by staring into her eyes scared him. Not because of the murderous intent behind them, Roy had the same look in his eye as well. But what disturbed the man more was the woman's red eyes. People from Ishbal had those eyes. He grew up in the war at a young age by himself until a soldier from the military took care of him. That was until he saw that soldier murdered by someone. A person with dark skin and red eyes. When that murder stared at him, from that moment on he always grew weary whenever he saw any person with the same colored eyes.

Shaking his head, the man refused to back down. He wasn't going to die now, even if it meant surrendering to Roy and Riza.

"We just needed a new headquarters." He gasped out. The bullet passed through his toe cleanly, but it was more painful than he imagined.

"Why?" Roy asked. "Why this place?"

The man forced air into his lungs. His face grew hot from worry, he hoped he wouldn't die of blood loss. "Our group is growing. Fast. We needed a nice place like this. And we're too lazy to build our own."

"So you came and killed everyone?" Roy hissed. His fists were shaking with anger. So many people died just because of these Scar wannabe's.

"Damn right." The man grinned. "It was easy too. Our leader was right about teaching criminals alchemy. Now everyone wants to join. With alchemy we can get whatever we want and take care of anyone from the military."

Roy felt disgusted. So this man and his group were a part of that criminal organization that had been growing in Central. Looks like this was more serious than he or anyone anticipated. He would have to get word of this to Central as quickly as possible. No doubt there were other small towns suffering the same fate as this one.

Angered, Roy stepped closer to the man. He wanted to beat him to a pulp, but decided not to. And keeping him alive was too risky.

"Kill him." He told Riza.

Riza nodded. But then she frowned when she saw the man grin. She was able to read fear in his eyes, she knew he was afraid to die. So why was he smiling now? Then she saw it. The man's eyes turned slightly towards the right. He was looking at _something_ behind Riza and Roy.

She quickly turned and once she saw a human figure she immediately pulled the trigger. When the gun clicked empty her blood ran cold.

Roy was slower. By the time he turned he suddenly couldn't breathe. Every time he tried to water rushed into his nose and mouth; choking him worse.

With her gun empty, Riza was vulnerable. She didn't have any spare clips or even one extra bullet. She dropped her gun and picked up a short, narrow piece of wood and tried to slash at the water, hoping to pop the water surrounding Roy like a bubble. The wood sunk into the water but it did nothing to break it.

Roy tried moving, but everywhere he moved the water went with him. His chest burned and his vision was getting darker.

Riza was close to panic. She continued to smack the water but her attempts were futile. She glanced back at the alchemist that attacked from behind him. Analyzing his appearance, Riza couldn't recall ever seeing him among the group she and Roy annihilate. He had to have been hiding in the forest for a while and decided to make a move now.

Knowing she wouldn't succeed, Riza threw the piece of wood at the alchemist but he simply stepped to the side to avoid contact with it. Smiling, he walked closer to her.

Riza's heart beat triple times faster. With her gun out of ammo how could she fight this alchemist? It was surprising he hadn't engulfed her in water as well. Tears began to swell from her eyes. How was she going to save Roy?

The only solution she could think of was to simply kill the alchemist. Maybe if he died, his alchemy trick would end as well. Riza picked up a pipe that stuck out of the debris and charged at the man that continued to walk towards her.

With a grin, the man caught the pipe. Upon impact, Riza heard metal clash with metal. Taking a closer look, she saw the man's hand was made of steel, even though his arm still composed of flesh.

The man yanked the pipe from Riza's grip and tossed it aside. Pulling back his hand, he made a kiss sound before he punched her in temple with extreme quickness.

The blow wasn't enough to knock her unconscious, but it was enough to throw her to the ground and paralyze her for a moment. Her vision swam and her head hurt. As she lay she watched the man pull his injured companion's shoe off to expose his injured foot. With a touch, the wound stopped bleeding and healed.

Awestruck, the injured alchemist was helped onto his feet with the healer and together they walked towards the woods.

"Wait!" The once injured man shouted. He turned to glare at Riza. "What about _her_!"

The older alchemist snickered. In a deep voice he said, "She's not worth killing."

With that, they both vanished beyond the trees.

For a few moments Riza still couldn't move. It was strange how she didn't lose consciousness, but the blow to the head and finally laying on the floor made her realize that all of her strength was depleted. She tried forcing her hands to move, but even moving her eyes hurt.

Then a loud thud echoed behind her and a large splash of water hit the ground, soaking even Riza.

_Roy_.

His condition was enough to refuel some of her strength so she could pull herself up.

"Roy!"

Fatigue was pushed to the far end of her mind. Her body automatically moved and she was instantly by his side. His face was pale, his lips blue, and his chest did not rise. Fearing the worst, Riza felt for a heart beat.

When she felt none her mind ran into panic. Her headache was gone, but her vision was still worsening slightly. Roy wasn't breathing and his heart stopped, she could perform CPR but she didn't know it! For once in her life she wished she knew CPR.

The method was taught in the military, but she always found it worthless to actually _study_ it. To her, it was ironic for a soldier to know CPR. She was a sniper, a specialist in firearms. She's always thought, she's a soldier, why should she know how to resuscitate when it was her job to kill?

"Roy!" She screamed again. Choked sobs escaped her throat along with more tears. She cradled his head to her chest.

Screaming at a dead body, as worthless as it sounded, was all she could do. She couldn't bring him back, she doesn't know how to. She couldn't protect him, her gun failed and she couldn't fight against alchemy. She failed and now she lost Roy.

She choked again on her sob and the rain that continued to pour. Her body grew colder and numb, but all she could feel was the growing pressure on her chest. Nothing could compare to the pressure. The different pains she suffered from numerous gun wounds, burns, scraps, stabs. None of them were as painful as her chest now.

Hugging Roy's head tighter, she never heard the approaching person beside her until she was being pulled.

Thinking it was the alchemist, Riza dropped Roy and tackled the person. Once on to of him she frantically punched him blindly. Her tears blinded her, but she didn't care. She heard a male voice, but still didn't care. It had to be him. The man that killed Roy.

Suddenly someone else pulled her off of the bleeding man. Still fueled by rage and sorrow, Riza kicked and punched at whomever was holding her. Once she was free, she jumped on the bleeding man and punched him again until he stopped moving. Feeling somewhat satisfied, she turned to beat on the next victim.

"Riza! It's me!"

Recognizing the voice, Riza snapped out of her trance. Instead of seeing the man she shot earlier, his true face revealed to be Maria. Or rather, Lieutenant Maria Ross. Feeling sick, Riza looked to see whom she was punching. Then she felt sicker. Laying on the floor completely covered with blood was Sergeant Denny Brosh.

Riza gagged, but ended up choking on another sob. The pain in her chest worsened and she felt the adrenaline leave her body. Her legs shook and eventually grew too weak to carry her body. She began to fall face first onto the debris, but was quickly caught by Lieutenant Ross.

Her vision was darkening rapidly, but she could still heard Ross' cries. Part of her wanted to laugh as she heard Ross call her by her former military title. Ignoring the Lieutenant's cries, Riza eagerly awaited for the darkness to consume her. She wanted nothing more but to drown in that darkness, the same way Roy drowned in water.

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	9. Ambition

Blind Ambition

Chapter IX "Ambition"

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_Bang_.

Riza tossed aside her worthless empty pistol and reached for the extra one in her hip holster. Taking aim at the target she made on a tree fifty yards away she imagined _him_. She pulled back the trigger until the gun clicked empty. She replaced the clip with a fresh one and began to shoot again. A continuous cycle past until the target she made was so severely covered with holes it fell off the trunk.

Teeth clenching, Riza tossed the gun aside and reached down for a rifle. Taking aim on a random tree she continued to empty its clip. Despite the rain in her eyes, she was able to easily ignore the water. The thunder roaring above her was muffled by the continuous shots of her weapons. However, thunder wasn't the only thing that was drowned out by the noise.

"Ms. Hawkeye!"

Oblivious to the voice, Riza continued to shoot at the trees. Shooting was always the best solution for her to blow off steam. Only in this case, her stress wasn't caused by trivial demands of work. No, shooting trees and imagining them as _him_ was the only thing that kept Riza in one piece.

"Ms. Hawkeye!"

Ears perked, Riza caught the shout just before she pulled the trigger again. Turning, she saw Lieutenant Ross standing behind her.

Eyes narrowing, Riza dropped her empty clip and inserted a new one. Turning her head back to another tree, she fired the rifle again. "Its Mrs. _Mustang_."

Ross sighed. "My apologies."

Riza winced. With her rifle empty again she decided to take a short break. Her arms were shaking from hours worth of recoiling from the weapons. "Actually, I'm the one that should apologize." Sitting the rifle onto the floor, Riza leaned against a nearby tree. "Was there something you were going to tell me?"

"Yes, Lieutenant Colo–." Ross bit her tongue. It was still a habit to call Riza by her military title, but with her and Roy Mustang's sudden resignation, she always forgot to call Riza simply by her name.

Riza smiled weakly. She went through hell and back to receive that rank. But for other military personnel to object to her promotions merely because of her relationship with Roy. Growing angry again, Riza faced the tree she was leaning on. A white cloth was nailed to the trunk and it was covered with bloody smeared hand prints. She used this tree as a punching bag. Taking a fighting stance, Riza began to punch at the tree.

She wasn't an expert in hand to hand combat, but she merely taught herself enough to pack a punch when the time came where she didn't have a gun.

_A lot of help that did for Roy._

Hissing, Riza punched the tree as hard as she could. She was finding it harder and harder to compose herself.

Lieutenant Ross cleared her throat. "I came to tell you that the train will be prepared to leave by tonight. Do you wish to return to Central? Or would you like to stay here?"

Riza remained silent for a moment. Her memories drifted back when she awakened the day after Roy died. She was in a bed surrounded by several military officers, including Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh, and Black Hayate.

Upon awakening, she was ill with a fever and bedridden for two days until she recovered. Maria Ross explained the small squads sudden appearance. Apparently, an emergency call was given out, its source in the town Riza and Roy resided in.

From what the military assumed, when the criminals attacked, one man was able to activate an emergency call from the small military building that served as the towns only security. Maria Ross and other officers were immediately sent to the source of the call.

Riza had explained the criminals ambitions. She explained their appearances, their alchemical form of attacks, everything. By the third day every person in the village was buried in its once small cemetery. By the fourth, Riza forced herself out of the room she rested in and blew off steam by shooting every single tree she spotted.

"I'll stay." Riza answered, finally. She thought of going back to Central. But what would she do there?

The military was her whole life. Her grandfather was in the military, as well as her father. She didn't have any family, no siblings and she never knew her mother. Her father was dead, and her grandfather was still in the military. She had no other skills, nothing attracted her.

She stopped punching the tree. Her wounded arm was starting to hurt, which was a signal that she had better call everything quits and rest. She had no reason to be in Central. To think of it, she had no reason to be alive.

"I can't just leave." Riza whispered. Then she looked up at the sky, blinking through the rain drops that landed on her face. "I can't leave him behind."

Lieutenant Ross nodded. She had no business in this town anymore. Once the Northern Military HQ received news about more alchemical criminals, they would be sending a squad of State Alchemists to protect the town in case the criminals decided to return. So Ross and a few of other officers were told to report back to Central.

"Well, I guess this is good bye then." Ross smiled weakly. When Riza looked at her she fell into a salute. "Take care, Lieutenant Colonel."

Riza winced again. "I'm not in the military anymore. I do not deserve that rank title."

Ross remained in salute with a stern look on her face. "To me, you do." Ending the salute, she smiled again. "If you change your mind, the train leaves at nine."

Pride failed to erupt in Riza. Before, she would have been proud to be called by her rank. To be recognized by another despite the fact that she was a mere citizen. A soldier to salute to a citizen. To be recognized as a superior. Yes, it would have felt nice. But all that Riza saw herself as was nothing but a failure. A dropout. A person that didn't deserve any recognition.

"Farewell." She told Ross' retrieving figure.

Thunder continued to roar from above and the rain grew heavier. Looking up into the sky again Riza thought, was the earth crying? Was Hughes watching, and cried for Roy's death?

Breaking into a sob, Riza fell on her knees. As thunder struck, Riza screamed.

_There is someone I need to protect_.

"Stop it." Riza cried, clutching her head.

_As long as he pursues his goal, I will pull the trigger for that person._

"Stop!" Riza screamed again in unison with the thunder.

Panting, she looked up into the sky again. She failed him. She couldn't keep her promise. She couldn't protect him. Then she looked beside her at the rifle and several pistols. _They_ had failed _her_. They were supposed to help her protect him. They failed.

"No." Riza whispered to herself. "I failed."

_Talking to yourself is a sign of insanity_.

"So I'm crazy. I don't care."

Climbing to her feet, Riza picked up one of her favorite firearms, the Browning Hi-Power, and stared at it for a moment. Truth was, it _was_ one of her favorite guns. As she stared at it longer, she fell into a bitter laugh.

_Only a fool intrusts their life to a weapon_.

"And others." Riza answered.

She closed her eyes and rose her head before placing the barrel under her chin. There was nothing left. No reason to live.

The blonde kept her sobs at bay. If she's to greet Death, she wouldn't greet it with tears. Instead, she would greet it with open arms. The same open arms she wished Roy would be within. Swallowing, her finger squeezed the trigger.

Moments passed and no gunshot rang. There was nothing but the sound of thunder and distant voices of men boarding the train.

_Damn it_.

For years Riza never hesitated to pull a trigger. Never has she hesitated to kill someone.

_That is why guns are better. Unlike knives and swords, there is no bitter sensation of seeing someone die_.

Ignoring the voice, Riza used her other hand to hold the butt of the gun. Why couldn't she pull the trigger! Then she wondered, would Roy forgive her? Could she even face him in the afterlife after she failed to protect him? Shaking her head, Riza cocked the gun before placing it under her chin again.

_She's not worth killing_.

Eyes opening, Riza stared at the sky again. _He_ was still alive. _He_ could have killed her, freed her. _He _could have sent her with Roy together to the afterlife.

_Is _he_ not worth killing?_

The void inside Riza's mind vanished. In return, a new feeling replaced itself. She couldn't kill herself, not yet anyway. Not with _him_ still roaming around. _He_ did not deserve to live. If she wasn't worth killing, he certainly was.

Placing the gun down, Riza rested her head on a tree and closed her eyes. Then a smile grew on her face. She'll do everything in her power to find him. And when she did she would get her revenge.

_How? With another gun?_

Frowning, Riza picked up her gun again. It failed her once before, it could fail her again. No, she wouldn't kill that man with a mere weapon. She'll fight fire with fire.

She'll kill him with alchemy.

With a new sense of ambition, Riza visited Roy one last time. With a final word of goodbye, Riza sprinted towards the town's small train station and barely managed to board it as it began to move. Well if it hadn't been for Sergeant Brosh, whom opened the door for her, Riza would have missed the train.

"Changed your mind?" Lieutenant Ross asked.

Riza nodded. "There is one last thing I have to do first. Or else I don't think I can ever face Roy again."

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	10. Rush

Blind Ambition

Chapter X "Rush"

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"So," Kain Fuery stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "What are the three key processes to performing alchemy?"

Jean Havoc yawned. His lit cigarette fell from his lips and landed on his lap. Drowsiness had delayed his body senses and he couldn't feel the small burn his cancer stick was forming. His head bobbed as he tried to stay awake.

"Matter, decomposition and reconstruction and manipulation." Riza answered.

"Correct!" Kain smiled and slammed the book he held shut. "You've learned all of the basics of alchemy."

Riza sighed and rubbed her eyes. "It's not enough."

Heymans Breda and Vato Falman nodded from their corner of the room, both were indulged in a furious game of chess.

Havoc, half asleep, finally felt the burn from his cigarette, which had already sparked a small flame in his lap, jumped up with shock and pain. "Ah! Hot!"

Riza and Fuery jumped and glanced at the blonde, lunging in the air with his lap on fire. Riza sighed again and hung her head down. Fuery stood with his hand to his chin and wondered what he should do, the flame was getting bigger.

Breda and Falman pried their eyes away from their game and once they saw Havoc jumping in panic they lunged to their feet.

Havoc succeeded in patting the flame away, but his face flushed a deep crimson as the men in the room roared into laughter.

As the men laughed, joked and mimicked Havoc's reaction to the accident, Fuery glanced at Riza and felt his good mood melt. Her head was hung over, her eyes closed and her breathing slow. She had fallen asleep.

At that same moment the rest of the men noticed their sleeping companion and fell silent. Breda and Falman cleaned the room from litters of food wrappers. Fuery tended to the dishes and Havoc picked Riza up and placed her onto her bed.

The tragic news of the alchemical criminals had already spread to Central by the time Riza reached the city. She immediately settled at a new apartment, she couldn't bare to move into her old one, and settled within the week. Since she lost everything in the fire she had to buy new clothes and food, as well as a few things for Black Hayate.

Once she had everything in order she thought about getting a job. Both her and Roy's savings were enough to support her for years without work, so she was free to study alchemy all day, every day. Studying was all that she did.

The first week was the hardest. One moment she would be able to study, the next she would break into a fitful sob. Most nights she avoided sleep. She couldn't sleep. Every time she did she was only haunted by painful memories.

Where did she find alchemy books? Most of them were borrowed from Luis Armstrong, others were books that Breda, Havoc, Falman and Fuery had managed to get a hold of.

Every other day Fuery, Breda, Falman and Havoc visited Riza and helped her study. By the end of the day they'd quiz her on everything that she had studied that day and the one before. Most days ended with Riza falling asleep where she sat.

Fuery sighed as he rinsed a cup. "She's exhausted."

Falman nodded while he picked up the freshly rinsed cup from Fuery and dried it. "Despite what she says, I think she studies throughout every night. Well, except for the nights we visit."

The shorter man nodded.

Breda walked in with fists full of wrappers and other trash. "I've noticed she doesn't eat much either." He said as he threw away everything. "Most of her food looks untouched every time we visit. And when we're here she hardly touches her food."

"You guys think there's any way to help her?" Asked Havoc as he walked into the tiny kitchen. For once a cigarette was absent from his mouth. "I never expected for her to take Roy's death like this."

"How did you expect her to take it?" Fuery asked. The last dish was cleaned and placed away by Falman.

Havoc shrugged. "Like how she always reacts to everything else. She accepts it, dismisses it, and acts as if nothing happened."

Breda shook his head. "I don't think she could ever behave like _that_ with something as serious as Roy's death. You saw them at their wedding. They were so _happy_."

Havoc nodded. In all his years of working with Riza he had never seen her smile or laugh. The only time he saw her happy was on her wedding.

"What worries me," Fuery added, "is the way she's studying. She studies as if she's preparing for the State Alchemist exam."

Falman raised an eyebrow. "That exam is two months from now. There is _no_ way she could ever be ready by then. Not when she's learning alchemy from the beginning for the first time."

Fuery shrugged. "A part of me wants to ask her if she is going to take it. But another says not to."

"Why" Breda asked.

"I just think that...if I ask she may really want to take it."

"Why would she ever want to be a State Alchemist anyway?" Havoc asked. He patted his pockets for a fresh cigarette. He went a minute too long without one, and he really enjoyed smoking when trying to think. "She just said she wanted to lean so she could kill that bastard."

Fuery hummed to himself. "Hmm, but as a State Alchemist she would have the necessary resources and power to search for that man."

Breda nodded. "That makes sense."

"The most we can do for her _now_ is let her sleep." Falman announced.

The men agreed and continued cleaning the mess they made. Once they were done, they left as quietly as they could.

Black Hayate yawned greatly. Now that the guests were gone he stepped next to Riza bed. After turning in a circle he laid on the ground and fell asleep.

Riza couldn't sleep for very long. When she awoke from her dream, nightmare actually, she half expected to catch the guys sneaking out. Most times she woke up before they had time to leave. When she found her apartment empty she got up and took a shower.

Once she was bathed she sat next to her mountain pile of books. It amazed her how it took roughly half a week to finish one book. Her goal was to be able to get through one a day, but she knew she was pushing her limits. Even without eating and sleeping, she _still_ couldn't get through a book in a day. They were way too detailed and long.

_Better study hard if you want to take that exam_.

"Shut up." Riza whispered to herself.

Her voice woke Hayate, but he simply rearranged himself so he was laying on his back and fell asleep again. He was already used to hearing Riza speak to herself.

_Do you _really_ think you can pass that exam? You can barely pass those stupid tests those idiots create. Even better, you can't even understand what most of these books say. Memorizing facts is one thing, but its another to actually use them for practical use. Have you transmutated anything? By now you should be able to transmutate yourself a new husband. Its what you want, right?_

"Shut up!" Riza screamed, tossing the book across the room.

Frustrated, she climbed to her feet and went to the bathroom to run cold water over her head.

"Calm down."

_Instead of crying, get your ass back and study._

"Calm down."

_The more time you waste, the stronger that bastard gets. The farther he gets from you. The more he kills. The more husbands he steals away from other happy women._

Sighing, Riza turned the faucet off and picked up the book she threw. Luckily the pages didn't tear, she'd hate to return a damaged book to Armstrong after he trusted her with all of his priceless books.

She opened the book and began to read. In two weeks she got through reading all the basics and other useless things she had to memorize. Now, in this book, she was to practice transmutation.

With a piece of chalk in hand, she mimicked the circle from the book and drew it onto the ground.

"Break a small stick in half, preferably a pencil, and place it in the middle of the circle." Riza read aloud.

She found an unused pencil, broke it, and placed it in the center of the circle she drew. She read the instructions in the book before trying it out for herself. With her eyes closed, she concentrated. She envisioned how she wanted the pencil to become whole again. Riza placed her palms onto the circle.

The lines of the circle flashed, which blinded Riza for a swift moment. Then laying in the center of the circle was her pencil in one piece. Yet, it wasn't straight. The pencil had attached itself in a T shaped form.

Sighing, Riza sat back and leaned against her wall. She rubbed at her dark eyes. This was going to be a _long_ night.

Two days later, a knock echoed in Riza's apartment.

"Riza." Havoc's voice called.

After a brief moment Black Hayate stood behind the door and barked. Havoc knocked again but heard no reply from Riza.

"Uh...we're coming in." Havoc called. Hopefully the door was open and Riza was probably in the shower.

He turned the doorknob and once he stepped inside his eyes grew wide. "Riza!"

He sprinted towards Riza's body, which laid face down in the center of the room. Breda, Falman and Fuery stepped inside and also panicked once they found Riza's body.

"Is she okay?" Fuery inquired.

Breda and Falman joined Havoc to inspect Riza. They turned her so she was laying on her back. Then they noticed her chest rise and fall, then repeated.

Everyone heaved a heavy sigh.

"Good, she's just asleep." Breda whispered. His face was sweaty and red from the sudden shock.

"Hey." Falman ushered his friends. "Look."

Everyone turned to where their older friend had pointed. Amazed, they stared at a slick and shiny object that rested on the floor. It was surrounded by a white circle, instantly recognized as a transmutation circle.

"A...gun?" Asked Fuery. He stepped closer to the weapon and clenched his fist to keep himself from touching it. He had never seen such a weapon before. It resembled a rifle, yet it wasn't as thin nor was it as long. It was thicker and shorter with a huge barrel.

"Unngh." Riza stirred. Her eyes opened and focused.

"Riza?" Havoc asked the sleeping woman.

"Huh?"

Riza stood up slowly. She recognized Havoc's voice and figured it was the time they usually show up. The sun was high in the air, its rays piercing through her window which added some much needed warmth to her.

_How long have I been asleep?_

"You fell asleep?" Breda asked. It was a stupid question, but he wondered why of all places she had to sleep on the floor. Unless she studied to the point where her body automatically slept to recover its energy.

Riza rubbed her face and yawned. Her back and neck were sore, but she ignored them. She spent countless times in the past during the war where her only bed was a rough rocky ground.

"Sorry." She whispered. "What?"

She frowned as she watched her friends stare at her with amazement.

"Did you make this?" Falman asked, he pointed down at the weapon by his feet.

Riza smiled. It took her a night to get the hang of transmutation. By morning yesterday she started to transmutate everything and everything she could find. The transformations were slow. But by night on the second day she was able to convert most simple things with ease. From torn pieces of paper into a whole piece to pieces of fruit and other foods into a whole piece again. Once she was done with repairing things, she moved onto creating new things. All night she worked on combining the metals of her weapons to form a new weapon.

_Hard work pays off, doesn't it?_

Smiling again, Riza nearly replied to herself. She bit her tongue to keep from answering her own question. But, nevertheless, she was happy with the rapid process she was making. However, her success came at a price. She couldn't remember the last time she ate a full meal and nor could she remember sleeping for anything more than two hours. Her body was weak and fatigue, but she kept a firm face in front of her friends.

Merely standing on her feet and she felt as if she were to pass out any moment.

"Yes, I made it." She finally answered with a small grin. "Its nothing extravagant, but I built it so it could cause more damage than a rifle, but its consequence is that it has a far shorter range. So its most lethal at a close range."

Havoc whistled. "You should show it to the military. I'm sure they would love this."

Riza smiled again. "They'll see it alright. But now yet. Not yet."

"When?" Breda asked. "And have you tested it yet?"

The blonde sat down on a chair. Standing any longer and her legs would have failed. "I haven't tested it. But it should work just fine. If there's one thing I know like the back of my hand it's the anatomy of a gun. Using alchemy to build a new one was simple."

"You're not planning on taking the State Alchemy exam, are you?" Fuery asked. Suddenly he wished he didn't ask.

Riza nodded. "I _need_ to take the exam."

It was as much as Fuery had feared. "But...why?"

Shrugging, Riza stifled a yawn. "State Alchemists are equivalent to a Major. With that position I can have numerous resources that can help me find him. Classified reports, funding, I can even have a squad under my command. I _need _all of that before he can do any more damage."

Fuery nodded. "Well...you have a whole year to study."

Riza frowned. "No, I'm going to take this year's exam."

"But, but..." Fuery stuttered. "You'll have two months to cram! That's not enough time!"

Then Fuery and the rest of his coworkers felt a spasm from their spine as they stared at Riza's face. Never had they seen such a death glare from her.

"What I've accomplished in a week and a half is what most people accomplish in half a year." Riza replied icily.

True, her success was unbelievably quick, but from what she's learned in alchemy, everything is granted at a cost. To understand and perform alchemy so fast she sacrificed her own humanly needs. She denied herself food, water and sleep for days. She ate and drank what she needed to survive, and she only allowed herself to sleep when her body forced it upon her. Her last sacrifice was time. She never spared herself a moment from studying. Even in the shower she stuck notes above the shower head so she could study and memorize.

Her body hurt and she felt horrible, but her determination to learn overpowered all pain. Its even shadowed the pain in her chest.

_Now you can see why they called Edward a genius in alchemy._

Riza closed her eyes. A faint smile grew to her lips. She would remind herself later to pay Edward a visit, she and Roy hadn't heard anything from him since their separation before the Fuhrer was still in office, and alive.

"I'm going to take that exam and pass." Riza announced.

With that, she picked up her newly designed weapon and stored it away. Then she picked up some more books and rested them on the table. She had _a lot_ of work to do before the exam approached.

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	11. Dropout

Blind Ambition

Chapter XI "Dropout"

* * *

"Good luck, Riza!" 

The blonde turned to face her small group of friends. She watched all of her friends smile and salute to her. Her arm shook, her body was so used to saluting as well. Instead of saluting, she smiled and nodded. She owed them a lot, for the past two months they did everything they were capable of just to help her prepare for this exam.

_Just one more_.

She aced the written exam and she passed the psychological exam with extreme ease. During that examination a lot of the examiners quickly recognized Riza. Their looks of pity only made her angrier. She hated to be seen as something weak and fragile.

All that remained was the practical skills exam. According to Luis Armstrong, who also joined her to study every once in a while, all that was required for this exam was to transmute anything and try to impress the examiners.

Soon Riza and four other men were taken away from the area they were told to wait. There was only one examiner in front of them, but Riza knew there were more. Several years ago, before she became an officer, she was sometimes posted as security whenever the Fuhrer attended the exams.

"Congratulations on getting this far." The examiner announced suddenly while he led everyone into a courtyard.

Riza examined her surroundings. The place was big, but for a courtyard made of cement there were several trees several meters away.

Then she analyzed the rest of the people. The group composed of only four people, including Riza. In fact, she was the only female. The others were much older, some even very fragile looking. Riza couldn't even imagine some of them actually being State Alchemists, especially with the drastic need of alchemists to fight against these criminals that have made even more damage progress during the months Riza prepared for this exam.

_Just one more exam. Then you'll be one step closer to avenging Roy._

Riza shook her head to clear out the voice from within. She needed to pay attention to what the examiner was stating.

"You all are free to transmute anything you want. You can use the materials that have been provided for you here. You may begin."

The examiner stepped away to allow Riza and the other men to gain access to the courtyard.

Riza already had an idea of what to transmute. During the last two months she had been training to perfect the gun that she created. Havoc and Falman told her that the military didn't have any such weapon that she made and pestered her to name her weapon. They even suggested she sell it to the military.

But she can kill two birds with one stone. She can transmute her weapon and use it to pass the exam and the military can learn of a new firearm.

"Examiner." She announced. "Will I be free to use my own materials?"

The examiner nodded.

Sighing in relief, Riza stepped farthest away from the other men. Two were already done with their transmutations, but none were too impressive. The last was busy gathering his materials into one spot.

Riza pulled out her piece of chalk and got on her knees, then began to draw out her circle. As she tried to draw as perfect and straight as possible she noticed at how much her hands were shaking. Her eyes were burning and her head was feeling a bit light. Following her lightheadedness she could feel a definite pain coming from her side. A cramp.

_Damn it, not now._

The voice inside Riza's head laughed at her.

_I told you, you should have gotten some sleep last night. And you should have eaten something as well. Your nothing but skin and bones now._

Riza shook her head again. Truth was, she _couldn't_ sleep last night. She was too nervous to sleep. In the morning she felt a bit sick and didn't want to eat.

Her face grew hot and sweat began to form at her brow. Was she getting a fever? Now, she didn't care. All that mattered was passing this exam.

Once her circle was finished she threw in her two pistols and her extra clips. She needed all the metal and gunpowder she could get.

She closed her eyes and pictured the firearm she wanted to make. She imagined its shape and power. A weapon that appeared like a rifle, but its range short but lethal. Riza clasped her palms onto the circle and watched her pistols dissolve and absorb into each other. Then a flash of white light erupted and finally her gun appeared before her.

The examiner was beside her in a heart beat. Riza noticed with the corners of her eyes how the man stared at her weapon with his jaw slightly ajar.

"Very good." He replied. "But does it work?"

Riza stood up and suddenly winced. The pain was getting sharper. She quickly ignored the pain when she noticed the examiner staring at her. She picked up her weapon and looked for a suitable target. When she couldn't find one she drew another circle and transmuted a target made of stone.

She stepped a few feet away and positioned her weapon. Once she took aim she pulled the trigger back.

_Click_.

Her heart nearly stopped in mid beat. Why wasn't it working? She tested the weapon out a dozen times before and its _always_ worked. Her weapon was able to produce a widespread of lead in a shower to whatever stood in front of it. But what she didn't know was that she made the barrel too narrow in the middle. The bullet was stuck.

She took aim and pulled the trigger again. The ignition caused the second bullet to collide into the first one and it created a minor explosion. It wasn't strong enough to engulf both Riza and the examiner, but it was strong enough to hurl Riza back into a nearby wall.

Her back slammed into the stone, along with her head, and rendered her unconscious.

"Damn!" The examiner rushed to Riza's side and checked her. He noticed her arms were bleeding, along with her head. Nothing too serious, but he was still worried. "I need a medic!"

* * *

Havoc drummed his fingertips on the arm of his seat. The waiting room was stuffy, the television was out, the magazines were boring, and the doctor had been with Riza for over three hours. The worst part of it all, however, was that smoking wasn't allowed in the room. 

His body craved for nicotine, his lungs ached to have smoke penetrate its flawless system, but Havoc couldn't leave to cure his addiction for the moment. He wanted to leave, sure, but he had a feeling that once he left the doctor would finally exit Riza's room.

So instead he settled on chewing the stick of the lolly pop he had finished minutes ago. As he chewed, he observed his other coworkers behaviors. Fuery had his nose implanted into a mechanics magazine, Falman stared out the window and Breda was on the verge of falling asleep.

Havoc's ears suddenly perked. He could hear a door open followed by footsteps. Turning, his eyes widened and he stood up to flag down the doctor that was leaving Riza's room.

"Hey!" He called as he waved his arm in the air. "'Doc, wait!"

The older man halted in his steps and turned. Seeing Havoc and the other officers approach him, the doctor checked his watch. He had another patient to see very soon.

"Yes?" He told the approaching men.

"Hey," Havoc repeated. "How's Riza?"

Blinking, the balding man checked his clipboard. She only had one remaining blood relative, but it couldn't hurt to report her condition to her friends. He cleared his throat and placed the clipboard at his side.

"Not very good."

"Eh?" Fuery asked. "Will she be okay?"

"In time." The doctor replied. "In time."

"Well, what happened? What was wrong with her?" Breda asked next.

The doctor was cornered by the men. Smiling weakly, he sighed sadly. "Her body is in terrible condition."

"How so?" Falman interrupted.

Growling mentally, the doctor cleared his throat. He really hated the ones that were impatient. "Her body is weak. She's malnourished, she's exhausted, and she...well apparently the condition of her body has terminated the life that was growing within it."

Everyone's eyes grew.

"W-w-wait a minute!" Havoc yelled. "What do you mean by that!"

The doctor sighed. He _really_ hated working at a military hospital. "I mean, Ms. Riza was pregnant."

Havoc stood quiet, but his eyes were glowing with shock, along with everyone else.

Fuery was the one to break the silence. "Was? Or is?"

Frowning, the doctor took off his glasses and cleaned them with his coat. "_Was_. I'm afraid she's had a miscarriage."

None of the men could speak. Each were at a total loss of words. It was bad enough that she suffered to witness her new home and husband destroyed and taken from her without warning. But now she lost her unborn child? Her _and_ Roy's unborn child?

The doctor bowed his head lightly. "I'm terribly sorry. You all may visit her, but please keep it short. She needs to rest." With that he walked away.

After another moment of silence, Havoc was the first to enter Riza's room. Eventually, one by one, the others followed suit.

* * *

Riza kept her eyes closed. As she had laid in bed she heard the doctor explain her condition to her friends. It pained her to listen to them. She hated being seen as a weakling. She hated to be thought of as someone fragile. 

_You are weak. Your pathetic, a failure, a dropout._

Fists tightening, Riza ignored the voice and tried to sleep, or at least look like she was sleeping. The doctor stopped talking and it was only a matter of time until her friends came pouring into her room. She didn't want to see them, or hear what they had to say. There was nothing they could say. But what she hated the most was looking into their eyes and only finding pity inside of them.

The door opened, but Riza kept her eyes closed. She calmed her breathing and kept her body as still as possible. She could heard Havoc and the others as they stepped inside. She half expected to hear their comments of pity, but she heard none. However long they stayed, she didn't know, eventually she fell asleep.

When she woke up it was dark. The small corner table held a tray with steaming food Perhaps the nurse that brought it was what woke her up. The food smelled good, but the last thing she wanted to do was eat. Then again, _not_ eating was what killed her child.

Sighing sadly, Riza glanced down at her bandaged arms. The small explosion from her failed gun created minor burns on her arms and the bump on her head wasn't as serious as a concussion. She ignored her physical wounds and held her stomach.

She had no idea she was pregnant. When she heard the doctors tell her of her miscarriage she was busy finding it hard to believe she was pregnant in the first place. But she remembered that searing pain from her abdomen. She remembered seeing all that blood and the fever that erupted before everything else.

Tears flew slowly down her cheeks. She failed Roy. She couldn't protect him. And now she was responsible for their child's death. If she had taken better care of herself, maybe she would have _noticed_ that she was pregnant. If she took care of herself, the life inside of her would have continued to grow.

Openly crying, Riza curled up. She killed her entire family. She deserved to die. But unlike her family, she deserved to suffer in hell. Should she continue to hunt for the man that killed Roy? Half of her told her yes, she owed Roy that much. But the other half of her said no, even if she _could_ kill him, how could Roy look at her after she killed his unborn child?

_Self pity is worthless. You hate receiving those pity looks from your friends, so suck it up and give them a reason _not_ to pity you._

Her crying immediately stopped. For now, she needed to recurperate. Then, she needed to continue training. The incident of her weapon cost her the exam, now she had a year to study and train for the next one. But she needed help, more help than Havoc and the others could give her. She needed someone to tell her what she was doing what, someone to give her hints or pointers, someone that could teach her.

There was only one person she could think of. Someone that was at the same level, or perhaps even higher, than Roy, the flame alchemist hero from Ishbal. Riza needed to see Edward Elric.

She hadn't heard from him in months. The last thing she remembered was that he and Alphonse were in their hometown. But that was before the Fuhrer was killed. Riza could only hope she could find Ed. He was her last hope.

With her plan decided, Riza pulled the covers up to her chin. She laid on her back and stared at the white ceiling for a few moments before her eyes grew weary. The next thing she remembered was falling into an endless dark abyss. Then her dreams were filled with images of a family that she _could_ have had. She dreamt of herself, Roy, and a small boy greatly resembling him.

Riza jumped up sweating and panting. Realizing it was just a dream, Riza laid back down and recalled what she had dreamt. Would she have had a boy? Or would it have been a girl?

_Does it matter now? Its something you'll _never_ find out._

With that fact drilled into her head, Riza pulled the pillow over her face and screamed.

* * *


	12. Teacher

Blind Ambition

Chapter XII "Teacher"

lLlLlLlLlLl

"L-lieutenant Hawkeye!"

Riza winced. Being called by her former military title was just so...irritating sometimes. Swallowing her pride, she smiled sweetly and greeted the young woman that stood in front of her. "Just call me Riza, Ms. Winry."

The blonde mechanic smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"Such manners!" Penelope snapped quietly in the background, which Winry ignored.

Riza chuckled softly. "I'm here to see Edward and Alphonse. It's rather urgent."

Winry's smile immediately faded. Her eyes watered but she blinked the tears away. "Wh-why don't you join us for dinner? It's a long story."

lLlLlLl

Long story it was, Riza thought. Shortly after a pleasant dinner with Winry and her extended family, Rose and her son were present, Riza took the next train to Dublith.

So Edward and Alphonse achieved their dream, Riza continued to think as she stared out the dark train window.

_At such a great price. Now they may never see each other again._

Frowning, Riza leaned forward and placed her cold hands on her face. Would she be able to avenge Roy and her unborn child?

Equivalent exchange, she thought, I don't care what the cost is.

Truth was, after being discharged from the hospital Riza sought after Edward and Alphonse Elric. She was hoping to get some help from them about alchemy. She had a flaw somewhere in her studying and she would do anything to repair the hole.

With Edward gone, Alphonse was with his teacher in Dublith.

"They have a teacher." Riza whispered to herself. Perhaps that was what she needed. Someone to tutor her, teach her. Once she reached Dublith and found that meat shop Winry said Alphonse was staying at, Riza would do whatever it took to convince Alphonse's teacer to take her in.

lLlLlLl

"Absolutely not!"

The shout was harsher than a slap in the face. Riza stood straighter and begged the dark haired woman one last time to take her in.

"Listen." Izumi whispered with her eyes closed and her hand on her head. She and Riza had been arguing for several minutes under the glaring sun. "No offense, but I _probably_ would have taken you in if you were ten years younger."

"If its money," Riza interjected. "That's not an issue."

Izumi glared at the blonde. "I don't want money. I told you, I don't teach to anybody that decides to knock on my door, disturb my peace time, and asks for me to teach them!"

Riza's eyes narrowed. Her fists tightened and sweat was rolling down her back, but she wasn't going to move, she wasn't going to give up. She was out of options and now she was at the end of her path.

"Please."

Izumi's glare softened. It was impossible to ignore the sadness inside Riza's colored eyes. There was something in her eyes that screamed she was only interested in alchemy for one thing. What it was Izumi didn't know, and frankly she didn't want to know.

"Just get out of here before I make you." With that, Izumi stepped back into her house and slammed the door.

Riza glared at the shut door. She promised herself she wouldn't move. If she had to stand there for a week then she would. She was beyond desperate. She was prepared to give up all of her money and possessions and even live off the streets if it meant getting just one lesson from this woman, Izumi Curtis.

"I'm not leaving." Riza told the door. The bag on her shoulder was heavy, but she didn't dare place it on the ground. If she wanted to have such a great teacher teach her, then she would have to sacrifice something as great as her own body needs and weaknesses.

_This is going to be a _long _day. _

"Shut up." Riza whispered to herself.

lLlLlLl

"Teacher!" Alphonse cried as he peered through the window. "That lady is still there."

Izumi froze in mid bite. "Hmph." She turned her head and swallowed her food. "I don't care."

"But teacher." The now eleven year old Alphonse took one last glance outside. It was morning and the blonde woman outside was still there. Her bag was holstered on her shoulder and she still stood up straight while staring straight ahead across the yard.

"Drop it, Alphonse." Izumi snapped. She stabbed her sausage with a fork and jammed it into her mouth. "That woman will leave."

Alphonse opened his mouth to protest, but with the flaming glare his teacher portrayed he knew it would be best to keep his mouth shut. He stepped away from the window and joined his teacher and her husband at the table and stared at his plate of food.

"Eat." Izumi ordered. "It'll get cold."

The eleven year old couldn't bring himself to eat. The thought of himself gorging while that sad looking woman outside stayed hungry pained him. She's been out there since yesterday afternoon. Between his lessons and training he always watched the woman. She never left, she never sat down, and she never ate or drank.

Late last night Al wanted to sneak some food and water to her, but Izumi tied him to the bed so he wouldn't.

"Alphonse." Izumi snapped. "Eat, or you'll join that woman outside."

"Yes, ma'am." Sadly, Al stabbed his food and slowly ate. It was cold.

lLlLlLl

Riza found herself falling asleep. She stumbled but caught her balance, barely. Straightening, she pushed her bangs out of her eyes. By the third day the heat had her whole body and clothes drenched in sweat. Her arms were shaking from having to hold her bag, but she still endured it.

Her mouth felt drier than sand, and the more sweat that trickled into her mouth only made her feel thirstier. However, the pain in her arms were no match against the pain in her legs and feet. She's stood for long hours before, but never this long. The longest she's stood had been for eleven hours, but reaching over seventy eight went beyond her limit.

What caused her to continue she didn't know. Perhaps it was the thought of either convincing this woman to teach her or die trying, literally. She wouldn't last another day. The human body can go at least three days without water. Riza was betting her very life on this day.

The door opened.

Riza's heart sprang to life, compared to its rate in the past three days. She blinked through the sweat that ran into her eyes. Izumi stood in front of her with a death glare.

"I told you, if you won't leave I'll make you." She hissed. Her arms were crossed across her chest. "I'll give you one more warning."

"I refuse." Riza whispered. Talking was painful as well. Without moisture, her mouth and throat were too dry to speak clearly and loudly. "I'm not leaving. Please, teach me."

Izumi's eyebrow twitched. From behind her, her large husband stood at the door. From a window Alphonse watched worriedly.

"Fine, it looks like I'll have to force you." Izumi stepped closer to the blonde woman and punched her in the stomach.

The sudden pain overwhelmed Riza and sent her hurling onto the grass. She couldn't breath, and even if she could her ribs ached every time she moved her chest.

Izumi sighed. She was hoping that punch would just render her unconscious. "I changed my mind, this will be the final warning."

Riza slowly climbed to her feet after she took in a long breath. She pulled her arms away from her stomach and hung them at either side of her. "Please, teach me."

Eyebrow twitching again, Izumi charged at the stubborn woman and slammed her shoulder into her chest.

Again, Riza flew back a few inches but landed on her back. She coughed for a moment or two before forcing her shaking body back onto its feet.

Izumi sighed. "You're more stubborn than Ed. Looks like I won't have to go easy on you."

Sweat rolled into Riza eyes again and rendered her temporarily blind. Before she could rub the salty water out she felt a sudden and heavy, painful impact upon her cheek. Then her shoulder was crashing onto the grass. She opened her eyes in time to see a sandaled foot swinging downwards. Her instinct told her to roll aside before the foot connected with her gut, but she was too weak to dodge it. Instead, she prepared her body for the blow and took in one final deep breath before her wind was knocked out.

Izumi reached down and grabbed the woman by her sweaty shirt and pulled her onto her feet. She swung her fist back and then forward, her fist intercepted the woman's smooth cheek and immediately afterward she followed the punch with an elbow to her jaw. Using her left foot, she lightly kicked the back of the blonde woman's knee to bring her onto her knees. Then she kicked her in the face and reeled her sliding on the ground from the impact.

Alphonse could barely watch. Honestly, he would have gone out and attempted to stop his teacher, but she was always one step ahead of him. Before she went outside she tied Al's arms behind his back in a way so he couldn't draw a transmutation circle. He could have also shouted at his teacher to stop hurting the woman, but she taped his mouth as well.

Riza continued to accept blow after blow. As she laid on the floor she again tried to stand up, but she suddenly coughed blood onto the green grass. Great, now she would get an even longer beating for ruining the woman's grass.

"Leave now." Izumi sighed warily. Her knuckles were red and she was sweating. "While you're conscious. Take your money and go to a hospital."

Talking was impossible. While she was on all four, Riza bowed her head down and leaned foward until her forehead touched the ground. "Please," she whispered painfully.

Suddenly, a foot connected with her stomach and made her cough more blood.

"Leave!" Izumi screamed. If the woman didn't get to a hospital, and soon, she would die. She went three days without water and food, then she suffered her wrath.

Riza slowly climbed onto her shaking feet. Standing straight, she shook her head. With her final breath she whispered, "please teach me," before falling face first on the ground unconscious.

lLlLlLl

A/N: Very short chapter, I apologize, but I have the next one ready for release. Sorry for the long wait, for weeks I've been without the internet.


	13. Exam

Blind Ambition

Chapter XIII "Exam"

With her body aching and burning, Riza felt as if she had been asleep for too long. Although she couldn't remember what, she knew she had something _very_ important to do. So she shouldn't be wasting her time sleeping.

Despite her best efforts to make her body obey her and wake up, it wouldn't. She saw nothing but blackness and her body was too heavy to move. Slowly she smelled something strong, a scent powerful enough to make her feel nearly lightheaded. Then she heard someone humming softly.

A few moments passed before her eyelids gathered enough strength to lift. Riza needed another moment for her eyes to recuperate and focus. When they did she frowned as she stared straight ahead at the ceiling. Where was she?

"Oh!"

Riza blinked then turned to face the source of the voice. Beside her sat a smiling Alphonse with a small damp cloth in his grip.

"You're finally awake." He said gently. Then he remembered something. He placed the small cloth back on Riza's forehead and turned to grab something from a nearby corner table. "Here, now that you're awake you can drink this." He held a glass of water in front of Riza with one hand, and with the other helped her sit up.

After Riza gratefully drained the glass, Al placed her head gently back onto the pillow and put the glass away.

"Alphonse?" Riza whispered. Her voice was unbelievably weak and raspy. She felt as if someone kicked her in the throat. Wait, Izumi did that.

The young boy frowned and a look of confusion replaced his smiling feature. "How do you know my name?"

Riza blinked again. Right, she finally remembered that Alphonse lost his memories when he was a suit of armor after his body was restored again.

Smiling, she shook her head. "We knew each other before, but I know you can't remember."

"Hmm." Alphonse hummed. His eyebrows nearly touched as he fell deep in thought, as if trying to remember Riza. "Sorry."

Riza shook her head again. "You don't have to apologize." Then she scanned her surroundings once she realized she was able to move her neck. She definitely wasn't in a hospital room. "Where am I?"

Alphonse smiled again. He took a new cloth, smelling strongly of alcohol, and brushed it on a small scrape on Riza's arm. When she hissed he apologized and retracted the cloth. "You're in teacher's house."

"Teacher?" Riza repeated.

Al nodded. "I'm sorry about what teacher did to you, but it was a test."

"A test?" Riza was feeling more and more like a parrot.

The blond boy nodded again and tried brushing the alcohol soaked cloth on another scrape, it still stung but Riza ignored it. "Teacher always has a huge test. If you pass she'll accept you as a student. If you fail she'll refuse to teach you."

Finally done cleaning her wounds, Alphonse set the bowl and cloth aside. He stood up and stretched before walking to the window and moving the curtain aside to let in a sudden wave of sunlight.

"So I failed..." Riza whispered more to herself, but Alphonse heard her anyway.

"No." He replied, turning to face Riza. "You didn't fail. You passed." Then he smiled.

Riza's breath caught in her throat. Was she hearing things? Surely Al told her that she failed.

"Al." A deeper voice interupted.

The 12 year old turned nervously and found his teacher standing behind him. Nodding, he grabbed his things and left the room, shutting the door behind him as he left.

Riza opened her eyes and saw Izumi sitting beside her in place of Alphonse. Frowning slightly, Riza gripped the bed matress tightly and awaited another version of her "test".

Izumi noticed her uneasiness and held up her hands in a silent surrender. After Riza calmed, Izumi sat back in the chair. "How're you feeling?"  
Blinking, Riza wondered if it was a trick question. If she said she was feeling better, would she get another beating? Or vice versa...

"I'm feeling fine." Riza said before wincing.

Izumi nodded. "Good, because you were asleep for two days."

Riza coughed. Two days?

"Now that you're awake and feeling better, we can begin your lessons." Izumi stood and walked over to a small bookshelf nearby the bed and took out three books. She laid them on the bed and sat back down. "These books cover most of the basics. You probably already know the basics, but read them anyway and study. I'll give you two days before testing to see how much you know. Starting next week we'll start on transmutation."

The older woman rose an eyebrow as she watched Riza grab the books and begin studying every sentence as if her life depended on it. She truly gave determination a whole new meaning. She even put Edward to shame.

"Tell me one thing." Izumi replied. "Why do you want to learn alchemy?"

Riza's reading stopped and she placed the book down. She couldn't tell Izumi the true reason she turned to the science. Winry warned her before Riza left Rosenbol. She warned her to avoid telling Ed and Al's teacher two things: the fact that Riza was once in the military, and that she's seeking to be a state alchemist. With Izumi's deep hatred for the military, Riza couldn't tell her the actual answer to her question.

"I..." Riza cleared her throat. "I lost someone."

Izumi's eyes flared and she nearly stood up in rage. But she bottled everything down. She just hoped Riza wouldn't mention anything about human transmutation.

Riza kept her head down and stared at the white sheets. "I promised I would protect him no matter what. But I failed."

Izumi remained silent. Her eyes were narrowed to slits and her heart was beating faster. She didn't want another idiot following in her footsteps, suffering the same fate she did.

"I couldn't protect him because I was weak." Riza whispered sadly. "I don't want to be weak anymore. I don't want to see anyone else suffer the same way I did. Not with them still around."

Izumi frowned. They? Somehow she had a feeling perhaps Riza was one of the survivors of one of those towns destroyed by the rebel alchemists. That would explain what she was saying.

"I want to be strong. I want to be able to help people, and protect them." Riza responded. She still kept her head down.

Izumi nodded. By her story, she didn't have the faintest idea of human transmutation. Then again, she wasn't expecting Ed and Al to know about it. She would have to be careful about teaching her new student.

"Well." Izumi stood. "Rest and study. The bathroom is down the hall if you want to bathe. Your stuff's in the corner as well. I'll send Alphonse in with some food in a few minutes."

"Mrs. Curtis." Riza interjected. "Thank you."

Izumi grinned and waved her hand. "Don't mention it." After walking out and shutting the door, Izumi leaned against the door and sighed. She really needed to rid herself of her weakness. The unability to say no to a determined face.

* * *

Month's passed, lessons passed, and after a year Riza mastered alchemy. Her knowledge about every tiny bit of information about alchemy was unsurpassed even by her own teacher. Riza's hair had grown well past her shoulders, but she hadn't bothered cutting it. Her body was faster and more endurable, much thanks to Izumi's "training" exercises. Now she understood why Edward was so muscular for his young age.

Although there was still one thing that Riza hadn't learned, human transmutation. Izumi managed to keep such information away from Riza and was successful in the end.

The day Riza left, she hid some money inside Izumi's house. In the past she constantly tried to convince Izumi to accept money for return of the lessons, but her teacher kept refusing. Riza couldn't leave without repaying her back somehow, so she hid the money in the room that she occupied for the past year. Within time Izumi would find the cash and Riza would be long gone.

Now that she was more than ready for that State Alchemist exam, Riza just hoped she would make it to Central on time to take it. The next exam was in a week, the next one wouldn't be for another six months. But for registration purposes, an examinee had to register three days before the exam. However, with the train ride from Dublith to Central it would take at most three days. If it was quick it could reach the city in two.

As Riza sat back and got comfortable in her seat her attention was drawn to a baby's cry followed by a woman's cooing. Riza lifted her head and watched a young couple, no older than herself; hold a newborn baby between them with smiles. Feeling her heart sink and a lump stuck in her throat, Riza shook her head and glanced down at the pyrotex gloves she held dearly in her hands. With a deep sigh, she leaned back and closed her eyes, wishing she would receive a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Five days later, Riza scurried from the train station, through the thick mob of people, and immediately searched for the car that would be her ride to the Central Military HQ. Her face was sweating from both the body heat of the crowd and the worry of not making it to the exam.

For the past week everything that could go wrong did go wrong. First there was something caught up on the railroad tracks which caused the train to be placed on hold for a day until whatever it was that was on the tracks was removed. Riza had been too busy studying to go and see what it was in the tracks that caused the delay.

The next incident was hijackers that tried to take control of the train. But with the help of Riza's newly alchemy skills and other military officers, the hijackers were handled, but at the expensive of another day as they changed tracks to a different location. At another train station it took another three days to finally get to Central.

Luckily, at the first train station she stopped at she made a call to Havoc and the other men and asked for a favor. She gave them all of the information that would be required for her registration, which was taken care of well before the registration deadline. Now, the only concern for Riza was to make it to the exam on time.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye!"

Riza winced. She hadn't been called that for well over a year. Hearing it now just felt…strange. Shaking her head and ignoring it, Riza found the massive Major Armstrong and followed him into his parked vehicle. Together they quickly rushed to the military HQ.

In front of the building stood Havoc, Breda, and Fuery with Black Hayate by his legs. Riza's chest and throat swelled. It had been so long since she saw her friends and her beloved pet. Now Black Hayate stood several inches taller and happily ran to his owner and practically shoved her onto her rear end to lick her face.

After a few laughs Riza was quickly rushed into the building to take the first two exams, the written and interview.

When the first were done and over with, Riza was taken to the back of the building with a handful of other examinees that had passed the previous exams.

They were taken to the same courtyard Riza was taken to from her previous exam attempt. With a new sense of confidence, Riza smiled slyly. This exam would be cake.

"Alright, examinees." The examiner announced when the group came to a stop at the edge of the courtyard. "This year the exam will be different. Instead of seeing your alchemy skills, you'll be using them for battle."

Frowning, Riza remained silent as the other examinees complained about the sudden change in the test.

"Enough!" The older officer shouted. "Because of the problems these alchemists criminals are creating, we need State Alchemists that can stand on their own feet in battle. Quit now while you have the chance."

When no one left the examiner took out his clipboard and looked over the list of names that was on it. With his eyes widening a bit he looked up and stared at Riza.

She frowned again when she saw that his eyes never left staring at her. "L-Lieu—I mean Ms. Hawk—err I mean Mrs. Mustang."

Riza felt another, more painful wince. She quickly cleared her head and swallowed the nausea that arose by the mention of Roy's name.

"I almost didn't recognize you." The examiner grinned. Well Riza couldn't blame him entirely, she nearly didn't recognize herself when she glanced at the mirror after numerous months. "You'll be the first to be tested. Please step up. The rest of you wait over there." Pointing, he and the rest of the men left Riza alone in the courtyard.

Riza kept one hand near her pocket and the other near the back waistline of her pants while she scanned the area with her eyes. Using her eyes was fast than moving her whole head. She learned that much from Izumi's quick jabs to her face.

Instantly she noticed a large, shadowed figure standing at least several hundred feet from her under some trees. Riza couldn't identify him, but she didn't care. If this was an alchemical battle then it shouldn't take too long.

Suddenly she felt the ground shake underneath her. Her arms spread around her as she tried to catch her balance. Then she heard something coming in on her straight ahead. Using only her eyes, she managed to catch some sort of stone hurling at her. Quickly dodging, she managed to prevent a deadly blow to her chest, but her dodge wasn't quick enough and she received a large scrape on her left arm for that.

Glancing up again Riza saw more stones hurling towards her. She successfully dodged each one of them, but with so many stones coming at her she didn't have enough time to draw a transmutation circle.

Going with plan B, Riza continued to dodge the attacks, but also got closer to her attacker. When she was close enough to steal a glance at the attacker, she saw she was fighting Major Armstrong. Then the attacks made sense. He specialized in creating stones the shape of his fists and hurled them. Riza felt ready to slap herself for not noticing the fist shaped rocks before.

Just being able to see Armstrong through the shadows would be close enough. While she rolled out of the way from another rock, she pulled out the pistol she had tucked in from the back of her waistline.

Immediately drawing the firearm shoulder level, Riza fired. The rocks stopped hurling towards her. Good, she knew that Armstrong was using his alchemy to block the bullet. Taking advantage of the slight halt of attack, Riza stood and fired five more shots. Right after the fifth shot she took her other hand out of her pocket.

With Roy's white glove in hand, Riza snapped her fingers. Then the area around Major Armstrong lit up in fire. But, instead of one giant flame, all five bullets exploded, each one was located to either side of Armstrong's limbs and his head.

The explosions weren't fatal, but it was enough to give Armstrong several burns and the smoke was too thick to breathe through. When he freed himself of the smoky prison, Armstrong froze in his steps as he came face to face with Riza. She stood in front of him with a long spear in hand, and a small smile on her face, with the blade pressed against his beautiful neck.

Sighing, and smiling in happiness, Armstrong rose his hands in defeat.

* * *

A/N: I apologize for the _long_ delay of updates, but organic chemistry is kicking my butt and free time to write. Forgive any mistakes in this chapter as I'm writing it before a class that I'm already late for. 


	14. Surfacing

Blind Ambition

Chapter XIV "Surfacing"

Riza inhaled deeply. She missed the smell of fresh coffee, the sound of the storm of footsteps around her, and most importantly, she missed seeing everyone's reactions when she handed them their paperwork, most notably Havoc.

It had been a _very_ long time since Riza last stepped into her office that she shared with her coworkers. Despite the early hour and the faint fatigue from working late the previous night, everyone's enthusiasm and energy always brought a smile to Riza's lips.

After she gave everyone their files, she sat down, sipped her hot coffee slowly, and opened the manila folder. Her thin eyebrow rose as she read the letter that was addressed to her. Sighing mentally, she gulped a huge portion from her mug, burning her tongue and throat in the process, and headed for the doors that led to the halls.

"Huh?" Havoc mumbled with an unlit cigarette in his mouth. "Where are you going so early, Major?"

"Meeting." Riza replied over her shoulder. "I won't be long."

The halls were still littered with late comers and the social addicted ones. Riza always hated when people clumped up and stood in the middle of the halls. The late ones scrambled to get around the numerous bodies, some fell, some dropped their coffee, and others dropped both their coffee and paperwork.

Riza scanned everyone's uniforms and found that most were among the lower ranks. She grew frustrated and announced loudly, "If you have work to do, get to your destination. If not then leave!"

Most of the chatter stopped and dozens of eyes gazed at the shorter blonde woman. Her face was calm, but sturdy and unreadable. Whispers began to spread like a pebble thrown in a still pond, but everyone still stayed where they were, even the ones picking up their excess paperwork from the floor.

"That's an order!" Riza shouted. She caught her hand wondering to her pocket.

The last shout did its toll and people kept their mouths shut and went about their business. Once the halls were cleared, Riza continued walking towards the very back of the building, but also the most restricted area.

The letter she received was an _invitation_ to a meeting with all of the Generals the military had to offer. Why they wanted her was above Riza's head.

She passed the secretary and was led to the same room Roy spent time in when he tried to break the news of the Fuhrer's true identity to the Generals and other top ranked officers. She spotted the chair that faced the meeting room's doors. Memories flooded back when she remembered when she sat at the chair and awaited for Roy to return. She also remembered how worried and terrified she felt then.

Shaking her head, Riza proceeded to the doors and stepped in. As usual it was dark and very little light filtered inside. Despite the darkness she still noticed several body frames that sat motionless behind the large, circular desk.

Lights suddenly turned on to reveal the top ranked officers that now ran the military. With the absence of a Fuhrer, a "council" of Generals was formed. But what did they want with Riza? Swallowing a lump that formed in her throat, Riza was motioned to stand in the center of the room.

"Major Hawkeye." One General announced suddenly.

Riza winced. She still hated being referred to by her former last name. She took Roy's last name a year ago and she still keeps it. She took a mental note to correct the military records after the meeting was over.

"It's come to our attention that you've discovered _the_ location of the last of the alchemist rebels, correct?" The General continued.

Riza nodded. "Yes sir." Although she knew that she couldn't take the full credit. For weeks she spent countless long days and all-nighters trying to find the "water" alchemist, but she received numerous amounts of help from her coworkers, including Major Armstrong. Also, her location on the alchemist rebels was not confirmed. Therefore, if she was summoned to this meeting because of her failure to report the location then she had a good reason for it.

"We've gotten word from a scout that searched for the location given in your report." Another General said, but his face was masked behind the shadows. Why they liked holding meetings in the dark and keeping their identities secret? Riza didn't know, and gave up trying to figure out why.

But there was something that bugged the blonde woman. She wrote a report about her discovery, but she did not submit it. Then her face grew pale as she remembered the day she left her report draft on her desk. Breda was collecting their monthly reports that day. Riza handed him her report for that month, but he probably forgot and picked up the report he saw on her desk. No wonder she couldn't find it since then.

"This is big news, Major." A female General announced next. She stepped forward so that her face was seeable under the dim lights. Her face was aged, but she did not look old. A large, noticeable scar ran from her left temple to her lips. "These rebels have caused us nothing but trouble and have been a thorn in everyone's side for too long. They've destroyed small towns, killed dozens of civilians, and hundreds of soldiers."

Everything was true. During the time when Riza was training under Izumi, numerous soldiers were being killed by the alchemist criminals. If they weren't destroying towns they were raiding them. But it was always difficult to tract them, and those that were taken prisoner never revealed any information. Most always committed suicide to avoid secret torture that some soldiers resorted to.

"You've done very well to find them." A third General replied. His voice was loud but raspy. "That is why we are giving you the authority to lead a team of soldiers and State Alchemists to this location. Here's a list of the ones we recommend. You are free to choose your team, but choose wisely. It would be best if these pests were exterminated immediately."

Riza's heart jumped. To lead her own team to rid of these murderers and avenge her husband was what Riza lived for, literally.

"We'll promote you to Lieutenant Colonel. Come back successfully, and alive, and you'll become Colonel." Said the first General.

Riza saluted and left with the list of candidates for her team. For sure she had five men in mind to take with her.

Two well prepared days and one fully rested day later and precisely eleven in the evening, Riza was in full uniform with Fuery, Havoc, Breda, and Falman on either sides of her. Radio headsets were straddled firmly to their heads. All four men looked a bit nervous, but determined regardless. Each held shotguns, including Riza. But both of her hands were covered in white gloves.

"Be ready to fall in." Riza whispered into her mouthpiece. She and five dozen other men waited patiently for the signal to charge a seemingly peaceful barnyard. However, through weeks of searching Riza finally found out that the main and only headquarters of the criminals was located underground. The only way to destroy it would be from the inside.

It would be impossible to simply use alchemy to make the ground collapse on top of their headquarters. Twenty four hours each day a handful of alchemists specializing in earth transmutation keep the ground sturdy and booby trapped for anyone that performed alchemist on the soil above their precious stronghold.

How did Riza find all of this out? About a month ago she found a man that lived in Central that was one of the alchemist rebels and created an alias to get closer to him. Once she earned his trust he told her of the "barn" that was secretly their hideout. He meant to take her so she could become a "member", but he was arrested in an attempt robbery of an armory and killed himself to keep the headquarters location secret. Riza contemplated going in alone and ridding the headquarters herself, but she was under orders to take in a team.

Now, she was moments from killing _that_ man. And she would do so ever so much more painfully. For a split moment she found herself shaking in excitement as she wondered how loud his screams would sound as she killed him.

"Lieutenant Colonel." The radio chimed. Riza cleared her head of its morbid thoughts and readied her firearms. She had a sniper watching from afar and waited for the lookout to announce on his radio that he was to take a short break.

It was their custom of operations to always check in every five minutes. Only moment that five minute time was extended was when the lookout announced to go on a break. Then the time interval was extended to fifteen minutes.

That gave Riza and her team more than enough time to kill the lookout and force themselves into the entrance to their underground headquarters.

Once the sniper killed the lookout, Riza and numerous of other men clad with uniforms and firearms quickly rushed into the barn. They found the hidden entrance under the table and opened the doors. The tunnel was dark, but there were no security backups. Apparently once the lookout announced someone was near, an alchemist or two in the tunnel would shut it off completely, while one transmuted the entrance doors back into the floor.

Riza led her team down the tunnel. Her palms were sweaty, and a bit shaky, but a faint smile grew on her lips nonetheless.

The rest of the night became a blur of spraying bullets, screaming, explosions, and blood. Their headquarters was indeed large, but easy to get around in. The building consisted of only four floors and its security was caught off guard. Riza's strategy of penetration into the building was simply bullets and explosions. She made enough shotguns for each regular soldier. The State Alchemists were free to carry a weapon but most preferred not to. With the combination of bullets and alchemist, especially with Riza's exploding bullets, it did more than its share of damage to the first floor.

Her plan was to destroy the building and everyone in it, and then they would rid of the whole place by making the ground collapse on it on their way out.

After several hours, Riza found herself on the top floor. Her guns were empty and she was out of ammo. She ordered her team to leave her alone on the top floor. She knew _he_ would be located on it. She scanned the first three floors and couldn't find him. She even looked for his corpse but still was not able to locate it.

Most of the rebels admitted defeat. But there were no prisoners taken. All were shot on site whether they fought or surrendered. It was cruel, but Riza was under orders to kill _all_ of them. Not that she really cared for sparing their lives anyway for what they did in the past year.

Most of the rebels best alchemists stowed themselves on the top floor, but none were really a match to Riza. They were too terrified and shocked to perform their alchemy correctly. Thousands of transmutation circles littered the walls and floors, but Riza killed most of them before they could even touch the circles.

Thanks to Alphonse's idea to perform the "clapping" transmutation without the tattoos by merely sowing circles onto gloves, Riza had both a regular transmutation circle on the palms and the other that Roy made on the backs. Snapping fingers was faster than clapping, so Riza resorted to torching everyone that crossed her paths.

"You!"

Freezing in midstep, Riza kept her fingers tight together and turned around. She could recognize that voice anywhere. Behind her stood the very man that killed Roy. He aged a lot more in just a year. Wrinkles were more dominant on his face and all of his hair grew white.

Just staring at him filled Riza with both anger and sorrow. Tears slowly formed in her eyes as she remembered the look on Roy's face as he drowned in that indestructible bubble that entrapped him.

"And then I thought you would just kill yourself just to be with your husband." He announced. His arms were littered with more tattoos of transmutation circles. Riza could recognize all of them, they were all difficult to draw with a piece of chalk and a five second time limit. The more complex circles were used for more difficult alchemy, and more deadly.

Riza didn't care. All she needed to do was torch him. She rose her fingers and snapped. A circular flame formed above the mans hand, but he was just as fast. A water filled bubble surrounded his head and extinguished the flame. Then the water fell onto the ground around him.

"Tsk, tsk." He grinned. "I'm sorry my dear, but I have studied that alchemy your poor _dead_ beloved specialized in."

Anger flared through Riza and she snapped three more times, but the man still protected his body by creating a bubble around him.

"It is futile darling." He cooed. "I know everything there was to know about the famous Flame Alchemist. I worked with him during the Ishbal war, I've _seen_ how he kills. If you have any hope to kill me, honey, then I suggest you do it in a different method." He puckered his lips and made a kiss sound.

Frustrated, Riza snapped her fingers uncontrollably. If he was stupid enough to protect himself with his own water bubble then she would surround him with fire until he drowned.

However, after the twentieth flame was extinguished from the man's bubble, Riza squinted her eyes. She had been throwing fire at him for well over a minute, but he never lowered the bubble. So how was he able to breathe?

Riza saw it, slightly, but she saw it. He had two air bubbles around his nose about the size of a fist. That's how he was able to breathe. To breathe he needed oxygen. And wherever there was oxygen, she could transmutate fire.

The next snap created a small fire within the two air bubbles. The man yelped in pain and surprise and fell back. Seeing her chance, Riza picked up a fallen gun from the floor and pointed it at the old man.

His nose was red and started to blister, but he paid not much attention to it when he noticed what Riza held in her hands. He chuckled. "Congratulations on finding my weakness. You're a lot smarter than you look."

Riza cocked the gun.

The old man rose his hands in defeat. "I can see I may not be able to get out of here unscathed. To kill you I may end up dying myself, or critically injured. And the rest of your team is downstairs. I _could_ just kill you, crawl to my quarters and press the button to destroy this whole place, your men included. Or," He lowered his hands and placed them on either side of his thighs. "or you could kill me, live, but go on living without your precious husband and unborn child."

Eyes widening, Riza quickly shot the man in the sternum. Adrenaline was fueling her veins. How did he know about her miscarriage?

The man was still alive. He was on his knees and bleeding, but still alive. He was in a mixture of laughter and pain.

"Like I said before," He chocked. "You weren't worth killing then, and you still are not worth killing now."

Riza dropped the gun and snapped her fingers. The bullet that was caught within the chest bone of the man exploded, sending a swarm of blood and chunks of human flesh in all directions. Blood splattered on Riza's face, but she didn't care. "It's worth killing you." She whispered to the pool of blood that once was a living human.

All the adrenaline that was within her had ceased. Now she was just an empty shell. Her revenge was fulfilled, but what would she do now? She had nothing else to live for. It was too painful waking up every morning without Roy by her side. It was too painful to continue living at the thought that she would never see him again. She would do anything just to see his smile again.

"Lieutenant Colonel."

Riza's eyes opened. She turned on her radio and said, "Yes?"

It was Havoc's voice. "The place is secure. There are no survivors. What's your status?"

Riza sighed sadly. "The fourth floor is clear. We can return home." She wondered if Havoc could hear the shaking of her voice.

She could hear cheering over the radio. "Orders, Lieutenant Colonel?"

"Get everyone out of here and wait for me at the top. I'll just search the floor."

Havoc hesitated. Riza knew he would want to ask her if she needed help, but it seemed like he knew she just needed some time alone. "Understood. We'll wait above ground."

Riza took off her radio and threw it to the ground. She wouldn't need it anymore. For now she just really needed to walk and clear her mind.

She walked through a few hallways, examined some rooms to make sure there were no hiding survivors, but the whole floor was empty, save for one room. Inside of it, it was no doubt that old man's room. The place was large enough to take about a fourth of the whole top floor. The walls were littered with shelves and books. Every book contained information about alchemy and war.

Did the Ishbal war make him insane, Riza thought. There were a few tables with either books or maps littered on top. Riza studied the maps. They were all the locations of their former hideouts, but each were crossed out in red ink. According to the maps, this surely was the only headquarters left. Between two shelves located on the far wall, Riza noticed a military uniform that hung on the wall. The uniform was bare and had no badges.

Then the blonde woman noticed something on one table. She moved aside all of the books and journals and found a new map. It was a map of their country again, but it looked different somehow. Riza sat down on the chair and stared at the map, studying it. On the other map of their HQ locations she didn't notice the pattern before because of all the notes written on the map, but this one was clean. The only things it showed was the towns and cities that were destroyed by the rebels. Each town was a dot on the map, and a line traced each one to form something. Then it hit Riza. The man was destroying different towns around the country so that they would form a strange circle.

The circle was no doubt a transmutation circle, but it was one that Riza had never seen before. It was complicated, with numerous of other circles and triangles on it. What was he planning to do?

Suddenly something _breathed_ behind Riza and she turned quickly with her fingers ready to snap. Her eyes grew wide as she stared at a taller figure hiding in shadow between two other shelves. It wore a long, brown trench coat, but the most notable thing about _it_ was its face. The head of the figure looked to be stretched so far back that it had to face Riza with its back to her and its face upside down.

It was Shou Tucker, with a wide upside down grin on his face.


	15. Sacrifice

Blind Ambition

Chapter XV "Sacrifice"

Riza jumped in surprise more than seeing the sight of the deformed appearance of Shou Tucker. Her fingers, out of instinct, nearly rubbed against each other, but she quickly gained her composure. Shou Tucker had his arms up, showing he was unarmed, but he still carried his wicked grin that nearly sent chills up Riza's spin.

"I'm not here to harm you." He whispered. Riza had to strain her ears just to hear him.

"What're you doing here?" Riza asked as she let her hand drop to her side limply.

Tucker slowly crept beside Riza and pointed at the map on the table. "I've been helping these men and women."

Riza's eyes narrowed. She leapt back and glared at Tucker. "Then you admit to being an accomplice to their crimes."

Tucker giggled. "Now Mrs. Mustang—"

A quiet gasp escaped the blonde. "How do you—"

With another grin, Tucker picked up the map from the table. He stared at it in awe. "I know a lot of things my dear. However," He placed the map down and stared at Riza. "I really wished you didn't go and do that to all these men and women."

Riza frowned.

"So many precious ingredients gone to waste. So many gone to waste." Tucker ranted. "Just when it was almost done."

"What was almost done? Tell me and you may only serve time in prison." Replied the shorter woman.

Tucker chuckled hoarsely again. "I have an offer for you."

Riza rubbed two fingers against each other, but it wasn't hard enough to create a spark. "I'm not interested in what you have to offer. Now tell me what you meant by—"

"You can see your husband again."

Riza stopped in mid sentence. Her face suddenly changed from annoyance to a sorrowful yearning. "Wh-what do you mean by that? How?"

Tucker smiled. "I can help you. I can help you do what only the Elric brothers have been able to do."

Riza's knees suddenly felt wobbly and weak, but she ignored them. Did Tucker want to do human transmutation? But it was impossible to do such a transmutation without severe sacrifices. She had seen what it could do. What it did to Edward, Alphonse and Izumi, Riza and the boys' teacher. And even with the sacrifices, the transmutated person only becomes a homunculi. Riza couldn't do that to Roy. He wouldn't want to become what he had been fighting against over a year ago.

"I can help you get the Philosophers Stone."

Riza's eyes dilated. With the stone she could get Roy back. She remembered what Alphonse had told her so many months ago. When Ed died, Alphonse used the stone, himself, to bring his brother back. From there Ed sacrificed himself to bring Al back. But there was something then that Izumi had told Riza. She said the reason why Ed was successful to perform human transmutation without to stone was because he had sacrificed his and Al's hard work they endured over the years.

Riza shook her head. With the stone she can simply get Roy back unscathed. To be able to see him again was all she really wanted. She avenged his death, and even now she only feels empty.

But what would she have to do to get the stone? Would she have to betray the military and continue what the rebels had been doing? The thoughts made Riza's head hurt and she winced.

Shou Tucker showed the map to Riza. "Everything is almost finished. We only need one or two more to complete the circle. From there the stone will be finished."

Everything was going to fast. How could she make such a decision now? She would need time to think about it.

_What will you do by then? Just think about Roy._

Riza shook her head again. She hadn't heard that _voice_ in so long. Not since she got so passionate to find the leader of the rebel alchemists.

"The stone is forty percent finished. If you help me, the stone can be completed by next week."

Riza's eyes widened. Next week was only a few days away. A few more days and she could be with Roy again.

"Why would you help me?" Riza asked.

Tucker smiled again and lowered the map. "I need the stone too. Only a little bit of it. Just a little to bring my Nina back. Then the rest is yours. There'd be plenty of it left too. More than enough to bring Roy Mustang back."

_How is he telling the truth? Where's this _stone

"Where is the stone?" Riza asked, straightening. "You said its partially done. Where is it?"

Tucker placed the map on the table and stepped towards a shelf in the far corner of the room. In the middle he grabbed a book and pulled it. The wall adjacent to the shelf suddenly moved forward to reveal a hidden passage. Whatever was inside it, it gave a red glow.

Riza followed Tucker through the passage. It was a short walk before she was led to a large, empty room. In the middle was a large transmutation circle. Recognizing it again, Riza noticed it was the same on that was on the map. The center of the circle glowed a bright red, which was too strong for Riza to look at directly. But she did make out a stone shape through the light.

"Look for her! She has to be around here somewhere. Look anywhere possible, even under the bodies if you have to!"

Riza recognized that voice. It was Havoc's. Straining her ears she could faintly hear footsteps running about. They must've gotten worried. And she threw her radio away.

Riza started to leave, but denied Tucker from leaving the room. "If you get out here, they'll find you and kill you."

Tucker grinned. "So I take it you'll help me, help you?"

Riza sighed. If she could get her hands on the Philosophers Stone and bring Roy back, she'd do anything. "Yes. I'll be back in a few days. When I come back have my orders ready."

With that she pushed the book back in place on the shelf and watched it close. Just outside the door she could hear men talking. She snapped her fingers and burned the maps that were on the table and threw them on the floor before stepping on the ashes to hide what she did.

* * *

The next three days were too slow for Riza. When she and her squad returned to Central it was like they returned home after winning a war. Putting a permanent end to the rebel alchemists was greatly appreciated from both the military and the civilians. And as promised Riza was promoted to Colonel. Her coworkers threw a big party for her the next day, as they were all given the next week off, but Riza simply sat and sipped some drinks as she replayed what Tucker proposed to her. 

When she was finally able to get away from everyone, she told her coworkers she was going to pay a visit to her teacher, she immediately returned to the barn that housed Tuckers facility, which still secretly stood in one piece underground.

Eager, Riza burst through Tuckers room door and found him reading a book. How he could read upside down Riza couldn't figure, but ignored.

"Ah, Mrs. Mustang." Tucker said with his creepy whisper. "Are you ready to complete the circle?"

Riza frowned. Did she have to destroy more cities in order to complete this "circle" on the map?

_You said you would do anything._

Swallowing a lump in her throat, Riza nodded. "Yes, I'm ready."

Tucker grinned widely. "Great." He put his book away and looked under a pile of papers before pulling out a single sheet. He thrusted the paper in Riza's hands. "You must go to these two cities and—"

Riza glanced at the writing behind the map and she felt as if all blood circulation stopped. "You want me to destroy these cities?!"

Tucker frowned. "Surely you've noticed the pattern. Destroying the cities helps both in finalizing the final transmutation circle, and the lives sacrificed contribute to making the stone."

Riza felt sick, but she wasn't too surprised in a sick twisted kind of way. So human lives was an ingredient for the Philosophers Stone. Sighing deeply, Riza nodded.

Tucker smiled. "When you are done meet me here. We'll finalize the Stone then."

* * *

If there was one thing Riza was grateful for learning from Scar, it was how to sacrifice a whole city in one move. At night, Riza used a car to draw a transmutation circle into the terrain. It took all night to drive around the first targeted city and to create a good indention into the earth. But what frightened Riza was her lack of sympathy for the people that suddenly disappeared in a bright red light when she activated the transmutation circle. The second city was no different. 

When the morbid deed was done, Riza returned to Shou Tucker. She found him in the Stone's room holding a small, young girl. Tucker was whispering a melody to her, but the girl did not budge, talk, or even blink.

Tucker noticed Riza's presence and turned to face her. He never looked so happy, or in his case crazy. "Look at the stone. It is almost done."

Riza looked at the center of the room and squinted against the bright light, but she did indeed see a several small stones.

"Now it's time for the final act. This will complete the stone." Tucker whispered. Then he went back to humming to the little girl that still did not move.

"What do I do now?" Riza was almost too scared to hear what she had to do next. Tucker stopped his singing for a moment. Go to the circle, and activate it."

Riza blinked. "That's it?"

The half man, half chimera nodded. "All the cities that were destroyed were designed to create a massive transmutation circle in the center of the country. To complete the stone, we need a lot of ingredients. Now that we finished the circle, you can just activate it there."

Riza's breath got caught in her throat. Just how many more people was she going to kill? If the circle was in the center of the country, thousands of people would be—

_Remember your promise? Don't back out now. You _do_ want to see Roy, right?_

Her body began to shake and she still had an uneasy time breathing. Regardless, she forced herself to step up to the glowing circle. She got on her knees, partially involuntary due to the buckling of her knees, and stared at the ground.

By activating the circle and killing roughly a third of the country's population, how could she face Roy then? She stooped down to becoming a murder just to satisfy her own blind ambition.

_You want to see Roy again. You want him. You _need_ him. Or else you're nothing more but a useless, self pitying waste of flesh. Activate the circle._

Eyes tight shut, Riza leaned forward and placed her palms on the surface of the floor. The light grew more intense, despite Riza's shut eyes she could still see it. The ground shook violently and something surged through Riza's body. She could _feel_ the lives being sucked into the soil of the earth, and combining at the center of the circle in front of her.

A buzz rang in Riza's ears. At first she ignored it. But after a moment she realized it wasn't a buzz. She could hear the screams of the people that were trapped within the massive circle and were shoved into the red stones. The buzz turned into a loud siren, and soon she was engulfed by the screaming. She wanted to raise her hands up to both stop the transmutation and to close her ears, but she couldn't move. Tears began to roll down her face.

Then as quickly as it started, it stopped. The only thing Riza could hear was the sound of her own crying and Tucker humming to the lifeless girl.

Drained and exhausted, Riza closed her eyes to sooth the ache in her head. With one hand she massaged her temple, and the other touched the circle. Another surge of power surged through Riza and she could hear and _see_ the people she sacrificed. Among them, she saw her friends, coworkers, neighbors, everyone in Central.

She endured so much, but everyone has their breaking point and Riza went far beyond her capacity. The crush of guilt, sorrow and anger finally sunk onto Riza's chest. Breathless, she grabbed her chest and wished she could tear open her shirt, her skin, her lungs, anything to help her breathe again. Then Riza finally noticed that the voice in her head didn't say anything. She willed for it to say something, anything to take her mind away from what she just did, but no voice came.

More tears streamed down her face and landed on the ground. Like the death of her unborn child, Riza did the only thing she could do to ease the pain. She screamed.

All the while Shou Tucker hugged Nina's lifeless body close to him and continued to happily hum her favorite lullaby.

* * *

A/N: The story isn't finished yet, in case anyone wondered if this was the final chapter. It isn't. 


	16. Blind

Blind Ambition

Chapter XVI "Blind"

* * *

Riza felt drained. Her mind was a blank as she stared at her hands that laid on top of the chalk covered floor. Despite the awfully cold draught in the room her shirt was soaked with sweat.

What have I just done, Riza thought. One moment she was glad to avenge Roy, the next she felt empty of any aspirations, then she's convinced by Shou Tucker to finish making a Philosopher's Stone, and now she was regretting it.

As she shook her head Shou Tucker climbed to his feet with his daughter's empty body in his arms. Completely forgetting about Riza, he stepped next to the glowing stone and smiled wickedly at it. The stone had a more definite shape compared to the last one he saw.

Placing Nina's body on the ground, Tucker eagerly grabbed the glowing stone. A small chuckle escaped his lips. Just by holding the stone he felt empowered and invincible. With the stone he could even turn his body back to normal. Yes that was a good plan. Then he and Nina could live like nothing ever happened.

"Nina." Tucker whispered to the empty body beside him. "Don't worry. Daddy will take care of you now."

He grabbed a piece of chalk from the others that littered the floor and quickly drew a transmutation circle. He didn't need one, but he did it anyway to be on the safe side. He wanted nothing wrong to happen. With Nina and himself in the middle of the circle, Tucker pressed the red stone on Nina's forehead and closed his eyes. Mentally he called for his daughter's soul.

Riza pulled out of her shocked trance by the nearly blinding red light that erupted from the Philosopher's Stone. She shielded her eyes with her arms and waited for the light to fade. She didn't pull her arms away until she heard a little girl's voice.

Looking up Riza witnessed a miracle. The lifeless body of the little girl was now moving. She rubbed her eyes with her tiny hands as if she just got up in the morning and tried to rub the sleepiness away.

"Nina." Tucker whispered. By the wild look on his face Riza assumed he was trying to shout, but with the abnormal stretch of his throat only a mere whisper escaped from his mouth.

The little girl gasped and sat up. Everything finally dawned on the child. She didn't recognize the room, she was cold and naked, and a monster was hovering over her.

Nina screamed and crawled away from Tucker. Despite just returning to a new body she didn't appear to be stiff.

"Nina!" Tucker whispered louder. His face still carried the wicked grin and his eyes looked frantic. He stretched his arms out to grab his daughter but she only screamed and scrambled away.

"Wh-who are you?!" Nina shrilled. Her eyes were large and teary. She hadn't noticed Riza in the darker area of the room yet.

Tucker's face softened for a moment. How could his own daughter not recognize him? "Nina, it's me, Daddy."

The little girl closed her eyes, tears rolled down her cheeks and she shook her head. "No! You're not daddy!"

Tucker approached her but she kept putting distance between them. She couldn't recognize her father, but it couldn't be helped. Her father looked no different than the other monsters she saw in the room he took her in before she "went to sleep".

"Daddy, help me!" She cried. More tears rolled down her cold cheeks as she continued to crawl away.

"Nina!" Tucker was beginning to panic. He walked faster and grabbed the shaking girl. The girl screamed and started kicking. He was getting angry now. "Nina! It's me!"

Nina couldn't hear him. His whispers were muffled by her screams and sobs. Tucker grabbed her and held her close; he managed to keep her arms and legs from swinging. He placed his face close to hers and smiled. The wild look in his eyes was spreading throughout his face. His grin was wide enough to show teeth.

Being so close Nina screamed again and shut her eyes. She called for "daddy" again, but when no one came she simply kept still and cried.

"Leave her alone!"

Nina stopped crying and opened her eyes. At first she thought it was her real dad, but when she saw a woman step out of the shadows she was glad regardless to see another person.

"Help!" She cried.

Riza's eyes narrowed. "Tucker, leave her alone. She doesn't recognize you."

Tucker held Nina closer and shoved her face on his chest. "She does! She knows I'm her daddy."

When Nina replied with another scream, Tucker tried to hum her favorite lullaby, but she couldn't hear it due to his weak voice.

"You're scaring her!" Riza shouted. She stepped closer.

Tucker ignored her. He just wanted to sing to Nina until she fell asleep.

Riza grabbed Tucker's shoulder, but then she was sliding a foot away. Tucker was instantly on his feet and his face was no loner wild. It was plain terrifying. Riza could see the madness in his eyes.

A small choke escaped from Nina. Riza's eyes widened when she saw the girl. Tucker was crushing her.

"She can't breathe!" The blond took a step closer again, but Tucker just stepped back and crushed Nina tighter against himself.

"No, I'm her father!"

Nina's face was turning blue. Riza quickly grabbed Tuckers arms and tried to pry them apart, but he was too strong. With one arm he reached and scratched Riza's neck. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were unfocused.

Cursing under her breath, Riza reached into her pocket and pulled out Roy's glove. "Let go of her, she can't breathe!"

Tucker shook his head wildly. Now that Nina was quiet he begun singing to her again.

He's lost it, Riza thought. She snapped her fingers, but was suddenly being violently thrown across the room and smacked into the wall.

A moment passed and Riza coughed. She opened her eyes and saw the Philosopher's Stone blinking slightly. Did it have a reaction to her alchemy?

Standing, Riza found Tucker on the floor by the opposite wall. His eyes were closed and his arms were no longer squashing Nina. Riza quickly ran over and pulled the little girl away. Nina coughed and opened her eyes. Upon seeing the older woman her eyes watered and she hugged Riza tightly.

"Shh. It's okay now."

Riza couldn't tell if Tucker was still alive or simply unconscious. She inched closer to his body, with Nina attached to her leg, and looked at his face. Tucker's eyes were wide open, his glasses broken and a grin was still plastered on his face. There was a small pool of blood that surrounded his head.

Sighing in relief, Riza turned to Nina to introduce herself. Suddenly the little girl screamed and Riza felt something around her neck. Turning her eyes she saw Tucker's upside down face.

Nina ran to the farthest corner of the room and Riza kicked Tucker off of her. But he only chased her with his arms stretched out to choke her again.

"No one's taking Nina away from me!" He shouted, much louder this time. The scream was no longer a whisper.

Riza was about to snap her fingers, but her back ache reminded her that alchemy would be too dangerous. Instead she pulled out a gun from her back holster and aimed at Tuckers heart and pulled the trigger.

The bang echoed in the room, followed by a heavy thud. Nina could be heard whimpering in a corner.

Physically and emotionally drained, Riza went to Nina and collapsed on the ground. The little girl was instantly hugging her arm. Smiling weakly, Riza pulled her into a tight embrace. The last thing she wanted to do was traumatize the poor child.

Exhausted, Riza rested while Nina's cries softened. Soon the little girl fell asleep. How long Riza laid there, she didn't really know or care. In her current condition, tie was the last thing on her mind.

After Riza felt somewhat suitable to stand again she gently lifted Nina and took her into the next room. There were no beds on the top floor, and Riza couldn't bear to take her in the lower floors and leave her alone, in case she awoke. The office would have to do.

The floor was littered with papers, which provided some protection against the filthy floor. After Riza laid Nina on the floor, wrapped with a coat, Riza returned to the hidden room where the stone eagerly awaited. Or rather, Riza eagerly waited to use it. She was mere moments from seeing Roy again.

Her chest felt inflated from the mixed emotions she was experiencing, she was nearly shaking. Ignoring Tucker's unmoving body, Riza stepped over it and rushed to pick up the stone. She glanced around the room as if expecting someone else to walk in. Sighing, Riza shook her head and mentally slapped herself. There was no one else around but herself and Nina.

The stone glowed brightly through her skin, causing Riza to stare at its beauty. She found it difficult to believe that such a gorgeous stone cost thousands of people's lives. Nearly smiling, Riza stepped onto the middle of the room, sat down and closed her eyes.

She didn't know how to exactly use the stone and she wasn't paying any attention to Tucker when he used it. All she knew was that with the stone she wouldn't need a transmutation circle, and the even better part, she wouldn't need a sacrifice.

Exhaling, Riza tried to vision Roy. She imagined his body, his short, spiky black hair. She remembered how tall he was, the curves of his skin from his muscles. She remembered his voice, deep but stern, and his smile. Finally, she remembered his eyes…both of them.

Suddenly it felt as if Riza was falling. She opened her eyes and found herself standing. The room wasn't the same anymore. It was no longer dark and the smell of blood and dirt had vanished. Then Riza noticed something in front of her, a _very_ large door with strange symbols on it.

Frowning, Riza looked down at her hand and found the Philosopher's Stone missing. What was going on?

_Maybe Roy is on the other side of the door._

Heart beating faster, Riza stepped forward to touch the surface of the door when she felt a presence behind her. Turning, Riza was face to face with a shadowed figure. Its shape was human, but small like a child's.

The shadow stood staring at Riza for a moment before it spoke, "you don't have enough."

Riza frowned again. What was she short of? Was it the stone? Dread filled her, and her stomach sank.

The shadow suddenly had the stone in its hand and it analyzed it carefully, before giving a firm nod. "Yup, you don't have enough."

Riza could feel tears forming in her eyes. She had done so much in the past year, it was nauseating just to rethink of it all. Eyes closing, Riza thought of what to do next. What could she do?

Suddenly remembering the fundamental rule of alchemy, Riza felt her stomach sink even more. Even with the stone, it wasn't enough to bring back Roy. Maybe Tucker was wrong when he said the stone would be enough for both his daughter's soul, and Roy's body and soul.

The shadow continued to stand in front of Riza quietly, and the stone was suddenly absent from its palm.

Opening her eyes, Riza found the shadow turning to walk away. Was it going to leave? Panicking, Riza stepped forward. "Wait!"

The shadow stopped and turned. "You're short."

"I know." Riza whispered. She was so close to bring Roy back. It hurt to think of how badly she wanted to see Roy again. It hurt even more to want to _be_ with him.

_How far are you willing to sacrifice to see him again_?

"Everything," Riza whispered more to herself than the shadow still waiting in front of her. Hands shaking, Riza balled then up into fists and nearly glared at the dark figure. "I'll give you anything. Take whatever you want to make the trade even. Please," Riza nearly choked on a sob, "I just want to see him again…even if it's one last time."

Head lifting, the shadow nodded and smiled. Despite being just a figure, its smile showed bright, perfect white teeth. Riza felt the hairs on the back of her neck standing, and she quickly brought a hand up to her mouth, but found her teeth were still in place.

Then she heard a door creaking open. Turning, she stared as the doors were shoved open by thousands of small black hands. Riza looked behind her, but the shadow was gone.

Feeling even more frightened, Riza could only remain calm as she was being pulled into the door by the small hands. Some had faces, some only showed eyes, but all were smiling. The only thing Riza hear was laughter.

Frustrated, Riza eagerly waited to see Roy. Her wish was soon granted. The hands in front of her separated to show a sleeping human figure. Smiling, and tearing, Riza stared as Roy's body moved closer to her.

She stretched out her hand, but she couldn't reach him. Tears were now rolling down her cheeks, and she coughed from a sob. Despite the evils she performed, killing thousands of people including her own friends, it was all worth it.

"Roy!" Riza sobbed.

But his body remained still, and his eyes were still closed. But he stirred. When Riza called him again, his eyelids started to lift.

As quickly as Riza saw Roy, her skull was bashed into a sheering, hot agony. What was causing her so much pain, she didn't know. Her vision was clogged by a dark abyss, and her hands felt wet. The laughter around her increased, but soon faded. The pain increased until it finally rendered her unconscious.

* * *

Roy felt cold. It also didn't help on whatever he was laying on felt even colder. Opening his eyes, he sat up, but felt lightheaded. His body felt tense as if he had been asleep for days. The room he was in did not look familiar; it was dark, cold, and smelled like iron. 

Looking down, Roy found the reason of why he was cold; he was naked. Frowning, he looked around. Then it suddenly smacked him in the face. His hands reached up to touch his left eye, it was still there and he could see through it.

A slight pain triggered in his skull. Shutting his eyes tightly, Roy remembered the events of what led to his…death. He remembered the water, and the last person he saw, Riza, his wife.

Standing, Roy scanned his surroundings and immediately recognized the human figure laying on the ground a couple of inches away from him. The single light bulb that shown dimly in the center of the ceiling provided enough light for Roy to see Riza laying face down in a puddle of blood.

* * *

Roy sat rocking in a chair deep in thought. After he scooped Riza in his arms, he surveyed the abandoned building and found a small infirmary. He patched Riza up, and watched her and the little girl rest. Roy played the last half hour back in his mind. 

When he started searching around the building, he came across a little girl asleep on the floor. Despite his loud entrance, she remained undisturbed. When Roy found the infirmary and took care of Riza, he went back to fetch the girl and laid her on the bed next to his wife. Strangely, he found dozens of blood stained clothing on the floor on every level of the building, but ignored them, despite his coldness. He lucked out when he found a locker with some clothes that fit a little bit too large, but they were better than the clothes that reeked of blood.

Back to the present, Roy tried to figure out what was going on. Did he dream about everything he think happened? Why was Riza hurt, who was the little girl, and where was he? The building was very large, too large to be abandoned with only dirty clothing littering the floors.

Riza stirred. Roy jumped out of his chair and was instantly by her side.

"Riza?" He asked softly.

The blonde woman immediately reacted to Roy's voice and jumped into a seating position. She tried to face the source of his voice, but her hands quickly touched her eyes. Or rather, she touched where her eyes used to be. Her fingers met gauze, her whole head was wrapped in gauze.

"Riza?"

Responding to her name, Riza ignored her face and tried to search for Roy by stretching out her arms.

Roy grabbed her arms and guided them so they would touch his chest. Riza's face lit up as she rubbed her hands on his chest and to his arms, then up to his face. Roy stopped her hands when they rested on his cheeks. Riza could feel something wet touch her fingers.

Roy was crying. He finally figured everything out. Where they were, why Shou Tucker's corpse laid in a room covered with transmutation circles, why his daughter was still alive and sleeping in the same room, why there were maps and journals kept by the rebel alchemists, why Roy awoke naked and with his left eye intact, and why Riza's own eyes were gone.

"You shouldn't have done this!" The yell was weakened by a sob. Roy knew Riza performed human transmutation. He also knew what she must have been able to create the Philosopher's Stone in order to survive with only her eyeballs missing.

Riza wanted to cry, to apologize for everything, but no tears came. She felt her face suddenly pressing against something. It was warm, stern, and she could hear a heart beat. Smiling, she wrapped her arms around Roy's waist.

Long moments passed when Roy finally broke the hug. Tears still stained his cheeks, but he dried them with a sleeve. He reached to kiss Riza on the forehead. She felt feverish.

Riza broke down and told him everything. The night he was killed in front of her, to her training and study of alchemy, which resulted in the miscarriage of their child, to her becoming a State Alchemist and ridding of the rebel alchemists to the meeting of Shou Tucker and the offer Riza couldn't refuse.

"You shouldn't have done this." Roy repeated.

"I had to." Riza confessed. "I'm sorry."

Sighing deeply, Roy just hugged her tightly. "What about the girl?" He asked after what felt like an hour.

Riza looked around in vain, she couldn't see anything and she did not know where Nina was.

"Tucker used the stone to get her soul back. He was insane before he was human, and as a chimera, he was even crazier. He was out of control and it couldn't be helped." Riza explained.

Roy nodded. He and Riza would take care of Nina. Another long moment passed when all Roy and Riza could do was hold onto each other, as if they expected to be taken apart again.

After some time, Roy convinced his wife to rest. She was still feverish and he was worried. Riza agreed and went back to sleep, with some difficulty. It was weird to sleep with no eyes to close.

Roy quietly went into the restroom, blew his nose, and washed his face. As he dried himself, his skin crawled and his hair stood up when he glanced at his reflection. His right eye was its normal black color, but his left eye was not. It was a reddish color, almost identically the same color Riza's eyes were. In fact, the eye was not the same shape or size as his own. It was Riza's eye.

End


End file.
